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THE  DISTAFF  SERIES 

Issued  under  the  auspices  of  the  Board  of  Women 

Managers  of  the  State  of  New  York  for 

the  Columbian  Exposition 


t    • 


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THE     DISTAFF    SERIES. 

16mo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $1  00  each. 

WOMAN   AND  THK   HIGHER    EDDCATIOS.     Edited  by 

Anna  C.  Brackett. 
THK    LITSBATUBK    OF    PHILANTHROPY.      Edited   by 

Frances  A.  Goodale. 
EARLY  PROSK  AND  VKRSK.      Edited  by  Alice  Morse 

Earle  and  Emily  Elleworth  Ford. 
TBS  KINDERGARTEN.    Edited  by  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin. 
HOUSEHOLD  ART.    Edited  by  Candace  Wheeler. 
SHORT  STORIES.     Edited  by  Constance  Gary  Harrison. 


PUBLISHKD    BY    HARPER    A    BROTHERS,    N.  Y. 

(^*  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  tent,  pottage 
prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  Canada,  or 
Mexico,  on  receipt  of  tie  price. 


UCSD  LIBRARY 


,HOUSEHOLD  ART, 


EDITED  BY 

CANDACE  WHEELER 


NEW   YORK 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS  PUBLISHERS 
MDCCCXCII1 


Copyright,  1893,  by  HARPER  4  BROTHERS. 


All  rigktt  mmtd. 


NOTE. 

MRS.  WHEELKR'S  "  The  Philosophy  of  Beauty 
Applied  to  House  Interiors "  in  part  has  ap- 
peared in  The  Christian  Union ;  "  The  Devel- 
opment of  American  Homes,"  by  Mrs.  Van 
Rensselaer,  was  printed  in  The  Forum  ;  Mrs. 
Carter's  "  Wall-papers,  Ceilings,  and  Dados " 
and  Miss  Humphreys's  "The  Progress  of  Amer- 
ican Decorative  Art"  were  originally  published 
in  the  London  Art  Journal ;  and  Mrs.  Morse's 
"  About  Furnishings  "  is  an  extract  from  Fash- 
ions. Mrs.  Runkle's  "The  Limits  of  Decora- 
tion "  and  Mrs.  Harrison's  "  Some  Work  of  the 
Associated  Artists  "  were  first  printed  respective- 
ly in  Harper's  Bazar  and  in  Harper's  Magazine. 
The  concluding  paper,  "Decorative  and  Applied 
Art,"  was  prepared  expressly  by  Mrs.  Wheeler 
for  the  Columbian  Exposition  Art  Congress. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
INTRODUCTION vii 

THE    PHILOSOPHY   OF    BEAUTY    APPLIED   TO 

HOUSE   INTERIORS 3 

BY  MRS.  CAXDACE  WHEELER. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  AMERICAN  HOMES    .     35 
BY  MRS.  M.  G.  VAN  RENSSELAER. 

SOME  WORK  OF  THE  "ASSOCIATED  ARTISTS"    56 
BY  MRS.  BURTON  HARRISON. 

WALL-PAPERS,  CEILINGS,  AND  DADOS   ...     74 
BY  SUSAX  N.  CARTER. 

THE   PROGRESS    OF   AMERICAN    DECORATIVE 

ART 122 

BY  MARY  GAY  HUMPHREYS. 

THE  LIMITS   OF   DECORATION 169 

BY  LUCIA  GILBERT  RUNKLE. 

ABOUT  FURNISHINGS 175 

BY  FLORENCE  MORSE. 

DECORATIVE  AND   APPLIED   ART 194 

BY  CANDACE  WHEELKR. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THH  series  of  collections  of  which  this  volume 
is  a  part  is  made  up  of  representative  work  of 
the  women  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  period- 
ical literature. 

This  literature  has  been  classified  under  its 
conspicuous  divisions — Poetry,  Fiction,  History, 
Art,  Biography,  Translation,  Literary  Criticism, 
and  the  like. 

A  woman  of  eminent  success  in  each  depart- 
ment has  then  been  asked  to  make  a  collection 
of  representative  work  in  that  department,  to 
include  in  it  an  example  of  her  own  work,  and 
to  place  her  name  upon  the  volume  as  its 
Editor. 

These  selections  have  been  made,  as  far  as 
possible,  chronologically,  beginning  with  the 
earliest  work  of  the  century,  in  order  that 
the  volumes  may  carry  out  the  plan  of  the 


''Exhibit  of  Women's  Work  in  Literature  in 
the  State  of  New  York,"  of  which  they  are 
an  original  part. 

The  aim  of  this  Exhibit  was  to  make  for  the 
Columbian  Exposition  a  record  of  literary  work, 
limited,  through  necessity,  both  by  sex  and  local- 
ity, but,  as  far  as  possible,  accurate  and  com- 
plete, and  to  preserve  this  record  in  the  State 
Library  in  the  Capitol  at  Albany. 

It  includes  twenty-five  hundred  "books,  begin- 
ning with  the  works  of  Charlotte  Ramsay  Lennox, 
the  first-born  female  author  of  the  province  of 
New  York,  published  in  London  in  1752,  closing 
with  the  pages  of  a  translation  of  Herder,  still 
wet  from  the  press,  and  comprising  the  works  of 
almost  every  author  in  the  intervening  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  years. 

It  includes  also  three  hundred  papers  read  be- 
fore the  literary  clubs  of  the  State,  a  summary 
of  the  work  of  all  writers  for  the  press,  and  the 
folios  which  preserve  the  work  of  many  able 
women  who  have  not  published  books. 

The  women  of  the  State  of  New  York  have 
had  the  honor  of  decorating  and  furnishing  the 
Library  of  the  Woman's  Building.  Believing 


the  best  equipment  of  a  library  to  be  literature, 
they  have  therefore  prepared  this  Exhibit,  and 
have  made  its  character  comprehensive  and  his- 
toric, in  order  that  it  may  not  be  temporary,  but 
that  it  may  be  preserved  in  the  State  Library 
and  may  have  permanent  value  for  future  lovers 
and  students  of  Americana. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  volumes  Messrs. 
Harper  &  Brothers  have  arranged  that  the  com- 
position and  other  mechanical  work,  as  well  as 
the  designing  of  the  cover,  should  be  done  by 
women,  thus  giving  especial  significance  to  the 
title,  "  The  Distaff  Series." 

BLANCHE  WILDKR  BELLAMY, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Literature 
of  the  Board  of  Women  Managers  of  the 
State  of  New  York. 


HOUSEHOLD  DECOKATIOK 


THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF    BEAUTY    AP- 
PLIED TO  HOUSE  INTERIORS. 

BY  MRS.  CANDACE   WHEELER. 

THE  element  of  beauty  in  the  house  was 
until  recently  a  result  of  quite  accidental 
fulfilment  of  unknown  and  unformulated 
laws  rather  than  of  any  conscious  effort  to 
secure  it.  If  it  existed  in  any  house  it  was 
by  the  fortuitous  combination  of  good  shapes 
in  furniture,  sympathetic  tints  in  walls  and 
draperies,  the  subtle  and  harmonizing  ef- 
fects of  time,  or  to  that  unrecognized  creator 
of  beauty — harmonious  human  living. 

There  are  houses — not  many,  to  be  sure, 
but  enough  to  have  come  within  the  ex- 
perience of  most  people — which  have  always 
possessed  a  mysterious  charm,  a  nameless 
something,  an  attractive  ghost  of  harmony 
and  tranquillity,  a  spirit  which  diffused  con- 
tentment and  quiet  happiness.  It  might  be 
an  historic  house  with  permanent  furniture, 
blossed  by  many  years  of  placid  occupation, 


or  it  might  be  a  succession  of  bouses  in- 
habited iii  turn  by  people  blessed  with  in- 
stinctive knowledge  of  the  laws  of  color — 
people  who  can  command  the  charm  of  beau- 
ty, and  whom  it  will  follow  like  an  obedient 
slave  from  habitation  to  habitation  ;  for  this 
mysterious  something  that  distinguishes 
particular  rooms  and  makes  beautiful  par- 
ticular houses  is  the  charm  of  color — color 
used  iu  fair  proportions  and  possessing  sym- 
pathetic qualities. 

Occasionally  the  tones  have  been  softened 
and  harmonized  by  a  perspective  of  years, 
as  hues  in  a  landscape  are  harmonized  by  at- 
mosphere and  distance.  This  beautifying 
effect  of  time,  however,  has  been  generally 
resented  by  the  average  householder,  and 
ruthlessly  swept  aside  as  often  as  occasion 
offered.  On  the  other  hand,  the  charm  of  the 
house  may  have  been  referred  solely  to  age, 
forgetting  that  in  material  things  the  only 
charm  of  age  is  in  its  power  of  harmonizing 
color. 

The  laws  of  color,  used  in  such  masses  or 
spaces  as  are  necessary  on  walls  of  rooms  or 
in  house  interiors,  even  now  have  been 
scarcely  formulated,  only  the  more  funda- 
mental having  become  a  part  of  human 
knowledge. 


The  greatest  possibilities  of  beauty  de- 
rived from  this  element  of  tint  belong  to 
bnt  the  few  "  born  colorists  "  of  the  world — 
to  whom  it  is  a  natural  language,  and  who 
scarcely  know  how  or  wherefore  they  are 
guided  to  sure  results. 

What  is  called  among  painters  the  color 
sense  is  much  more  rare  than  that  other 
natural  endowment  or  susceptibility  known 
as  an  ear  for  music,  and  yet  the  one  is  to  the 
eye  precisely  what  the  other  is  to  the  ear — 
an  instinctive  knowledge  of  the  laws  which 
govern  harmony. 

The  "born  colorist"  is  one  who  without 
special  training,  or  perhaps  in  spite  of  it,  can 
unerringly  combine  or  oppose  tints  which 
charm  the  eye  and  satisfy  the  sense. 

Even  among  painters  this  is  by  no  means 
a  common  gift,  and  it  is  almost  more  rare  to 
find  a  picture  distinguished  for  its  harmony 
and  beauty  of  color  than  to  see  a  room  in 
which  nothing  jars  and  everything  works 
together  for  beauty. 

It  seems  strange  that  the  color  sense 
should  be  a  rarer  personal  gift  than  the 
musical  sense,  since  Nature  apparently  is  far 
more  lavish  of  her  lessons  for  the  eye  than 
for  the  ear.  The  tones  of  the  octave  cer- 
tainly exist  in  the  world,  but  they  have 


0 


been  gathered  from  widely  different  sub- 
stances, and  carefully  linked  in  order  and 
sequence  by  human  ingenuity;  while  to  the 
painter  harmonies  occur  and  sequences  fol- 
low each  other,  not  only  over  the  great  sur- 
faces of  land  and  sea  and  sky,  but  in  the 
tints  and  shadows  and  reflections  of  every 
flower  and  plant  and  tree. 

The  object-lesson  begins  when  we  first 
open  onr  eyes  upon  the  world,  and  continues 
through  all  the  circle  of  sensation  and  ex- 
perience which  makes  np  onr  human  lives. 

I  have  said  that  our  first  teacher  in  color 
is  Nature,  and  I  might  go  further  and  say 
that  an  intelligent  study  of  the  distribution 
of  tints  in  the  natural  world  will  make  a 
successful  colorist ;  but  it  must  be  an  intelli- 
gent, broad,  and  philosophical  study — not  a 
partial  one. 

The  whole  of  the  art  is  founded  upon 
natural  laws,  but  it  is  very  possible  to  mis- 
read or  misinterpret  them  by  only  partial  ob- 
servation. Principles  of  masses  and  spaces 
and  gradations  must  underlie  all  acciden- 
tal harmonies  and  effects,  just  as  in  music 
the  simple  strong  under-chords  of  the  bass 
must  be  the  ground  for  all  the  changes  and 
trippings  of  the  upper  melodies. 

The  principles  and  laws  of  beautiful  color, 


so  far  as  we  understand  them,  correspond 
curiously  to  the  principles  of  melodious 
sound.  It  is  as  impossible  to  produce  a 
beautiful  effect  from  one  tone  of  color  as  to 
make  a  melody  upon  one  note  of  the  har- 
monic scale ;  it  is  the  skilful  variation  of 
tone  or  opposition  of  tint  which  gives  per- 
manent satisfaction  to  the  eye. 

In  one  art,  sequence  produces  the  effect 
upon  the  senses,  and  in  the  other,  juxtapo- 
sition. 

There  is  no  need  even  of  a  different  nomen- 
clature for  the  qualities  peculiar  to  the  two — 
scale,  notes,  tones,  harmonies,  the  words  ex-, 
press  effects  common  to  both.  But  color  has 
this  advantage,  that  its  harmonies  can  be 
fixed  ;  once  expressed,  they  remain  as  a  con- 
stant and  ever  present  delight. 

In  what  is  popularly  called  "  House  Deco- 
ration," or,  in  other  words,  the  attempt  to  se- 
cure beauty  as  a  permanent  quality  of  the 
home,  the  first  and  most  important  necessity 
is  harmony  and  effect  of  color  ;  in  fact,  with- 
out this  all  effort  is  vain,  all  expenditure 
futile.  Color  is  the  beneficent  angel  or  the 
malicious  devil  of  the  house.  Properly  under- 
stood and  successfully  entreated,  it  is  the 
most  powerful  mental  influence  of  the 
home ;  but  if  totally  disregarded  or  igno- 


rautly  dealt  with  it  is  able  to  introduce 
an  element  of  unrest,  to  refuse  healing  to 
tired  nerves  and  overtasked  energies,  to 
stir  up  anger  and  malice  and  all  unseen  en- 
emies of  household  comfort — the  enemies 
that  lie  in  wait  for  the  victims  of  weakness 
and  fatigue. 

This  may  seem  a  very  far-fetched  conclu- 
sion, but  it  is  a  fact,  experienced  and  tested 
by  every  sensitive  temperament. 

In  applying  principles  of  color  to  honse 
decoration,  the  first  and  most  important  one 
is  that  of  gradation.  The  strongest,  and 
generally  the  purest,  tones  of  color  belong 
naturally  at  the  base ;  and  the  floor  of  a 
room  means  the  base  upon  which  the  scheme 
of  decoration  is  to  be  built.  The  carpet  or 
floor  covering  should  therefore  carry  the 
strongest  tones  of  color. 

If  a  single  tint  is  to  be  used,  the  walls 
must  take  the  next  gradation,  and  the  ceil- 
ing the  last. 

These  gradations  must  be  far  enough  re- 
moved from  each  other  in  strength  or  in- 
tensity to  answer  any  requirements  of  light 
or  depth ;  but  not  far  enough  to  lose  their 
relation.  The  connecting  grades  must  be 
easily  imaginable,  and  the  relation  between 
them  perfectly  apparent.  These  three  masses 


of  related  color  are  the  groundwork  upon 
which  one  can  play  infinite  variations. 

The  tint  of  any  particular  room  should  bo 
chosen  with  reference  not  only  to  personal 
liking,  but  first  of  all  to  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  light  which  pervades  it. 

A  north  room  will  require  warm  and  bright 
treatment.  Warm  reds,  and  golden  browns, 
or  pure  gold  colors  —  especially  in  curtains 
and  draperies — will  give  an  effect  of  perfect 
sunshine  in  a  dark  and  shadowy  room  ;  but 
the  same  treatment  in  a  room  fronting  the 
south  would  produce  an  almost  insupport- 
able brightness. 

Interiors  with  a  southern  exposure  should 
be  treated  with  cool,  light  colors — blues  in 
various  grades,  water  greens,  and  silvery 
tones  which  will  contrast  with  the  positive 
yellow  of  sunlight.  Kooms  with  an  east  or 
west  light  may  carry  successfully  colors  of 
any  tint  without  violating  fundamental 
laws. 

I  have  already  given  the  scale  in  which 
color  should  be  used  upon  the  floor,  walls, 
and  ceiling,  and  with  this,  and  reference  to 
direction  and  amount  of  light,  one  may  be- 
gin to  indulge  in  the  personal  fancies  which 
give  originality  and  individuality  to  a  home. 

After  the  masses  of  color  are  properly  dis- 


10 


tributed  comes  tlie  enjoyable  work  of  em- 
bellishment; of  intensifying  it  iu  one  place 
or  softening  it  in  another;  of  arranging  con- 
trasts which  will  enhance  the  value  of  each 
of  the  tints  contrasted. 

If  the  walls  are  hung  with  paper  or  inex- 
pensive textile  the  change  of  tone  may  be 
obtained  in  their  design  ;  that  is,  the  materi- 
al, whether  paper  or  textile,  must  be  orna- 
mented iu  monochrome.  It  is  not  safe  to  de- 
pend upon  hangings  of  the  ordinary  class  for 
variety  in  color. 

Knowledge  of  the  laws  of  color  does  not 
enter  largely  into  general  manufactures,  and 
the  contrasts  obtainable  in  paper-hangings 
and  chintzes  are  too  crude  and  inartistic  to 
make  good  walls,  except  in  the  safe  and  fre- 
quent examples  of  printing  iu  one  tint — a 
darker  design  upon  a  lighter  background. 
These  give  a  soft  general  effect,  and  the 
relief  to  the  eye  produced  by  gradation  of 
tone. 

This  matter  of  variation  without  contrast 
in  wall  surface  is  one  of  the  most  important 
in  house  decoration.  Some  difference  of  tone 
there  must  be  in  large  plain  surfaces  which 
lie  within  the  level  of  the  eye,  or  the  mo- 
iiotony  of  a  room  becomes  fatiguing.  A 
plain  painted  wall  may,  it  is  true,  be  broken 


by  pictures,  or  cabinets,  or  bits  of  china — 
anything,  in  short,  which  will  throw  parts 
of  it  into  shadow,  and  illumine  other  parts 
with  gilded  reflections;  but  eveu  then  there 
will  be  long  plain  spaces  above  the  picture 
or  cabinet  line,  where  blank  moiiotony  of 
tone  will  be  fatal  to  the  general  effect  of  the 
room. 

It  is  in  this  upper  space — where  the  wall 
is  a  plain  and  painted  one — that  a  broad 
line  of  flat  decoration  should  occur  ;  but  on 
a  wall  hung  with  paper  or  cloth  it  ia  by  no 
means  necessary. 

Damasked  cloths,  where  the  design  is 
shown  by  the  crossing  of  woven  threads,  are 
particularly  effective  and  satisfactory  as  wall 
coverings.  The  soft  surface  is  luxurious  to 
the  imagination,  and  the  play  of  light  and 
shadow  upon  the  warp  and  woof  interests 
the  eye,  although  there  is  no  actual  change 
of  color. 

Too  much  stress  can  hardly  be  laid  upon 
the  variation  of  tone  iu  wall  surfaces,  since 
the  four  walls  stand  for  the  atmosphere  of  a 
room.  They  are  what  the  eye  constantly 
sees  and  feels,  and  one  might  almost  as  well 
be  shut  up  in  the  dark  as  to  have  an  abso- 
lute blank  presented  on  every  side  to  that 
most  active  minister  of  happiness,  the  eye. 


13 


Floor  coverings,  on  the  contrary,  .are  bet- 
ter in  what  are  called  solid  colors,  and  there 
is  philosophy  in  it  as  "well,  since  it  is  pleas- 
anter  to  be  unconscious  of  one's  footing  than 
to  have  the  attention  constantly  attracted 
by  change  of  tint  or  even  of  tone.  A  good 
wood  floor  is  in  some  respects  the  best 
possible  one  for  a  living-room;  but  unless 
it  be  stained  or  partially  covered  the  whole 
scheme  of  color  in  the  room  must  be  sub- 
ordinated to  it,  and  instead  of  a  sknple  prob- 
lem it  becomes  rather  a  complex  one.  The 
fact,  however,  remains  that  a  hard  wood  floor 
well  filled  and  finished,  and  carrying  one 
large  or  several  small  rugs,  fine  in  them- 
selves and  not  out  of  key  with  the  general 
color  of  the  room,  is  the  most  satisfactory 
foundation  for  general  purposes. 

But  in  this,  as  in  all  decoration,  details 
based  upon  general  principles  of  color  are 
quite  within  the  power  of  the  average  home- 
maker. 

It  is  not  in  detail  so  much  as  in  considera- 
tion of  underlying  principles  that  the  crea- 
tor of  the  home  is  often  at  fault. 

The  preliminary  study,  the  careful  consid- 
eration of  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  house  is  to  be  maintained,  the  place  and 
use,  should  be  much  more  earnestly  taken 


into  account  than  the  amount  of  money  to 
be  expended  upon  it  or  in  it.  The  instinct 
of  the  house-maker  may  do  much,  but  it  can- 
not, without  study  of  appropriateness  in 
every  direction, make  even  the  simplest  sum- 
mer cottage  a  true  expression  of  beauty. 

The  instinct  of  home-making  which  abides 
in  the  minds  of  women  at  the  present  period 
in  America  is  greatly  stimulated  by  a  very 
general  artistic  impulse — a  drift  of  the  popu- 
lar mind  towards  art.  The  enjoyment  of 
perfected  methods  of  manufacture,  of  beau- 
tiful lines  and  surfaces,  of  exquisite  harmo- 
nies of  color — in  short,  of  the  material  crea- 
tions of  the  true  artist-artisan — is  an  almost 
universal  feminine  experience. 

It  follows  that  those  who  are  possessed  of 
this  artistic  insight  and  love  of  beauty  not 
only  find  the  keenest  enjoyment  in  the 
natural  exercise  of  those  gifts  in  house- 
furnishing,  but  often  produce  most  charm- 
ing and  original  effects  by  the  clever  choice 
and  happy  arrangement  of  things  which  go 
to  make  up  the  home. 

It  is  true  that  they  sometimes  fail  in  com- 
passing the  fitness  or  appropriateness  which 
makes  the  full  perfection  of  this  beautiful 
art,  and  shirk  the  preliminary  study  which 
is  necessary  to  thorough  completeness.  They 


are  apt  to  follow  fancy  and  taste  uot  based 
upon  the  requirements  of  circumstances, 
and  as  a  consequence  the  result  is  a  lack  of 
the  restfnlness  and  calm  which  are  given 
by  careful  fitting  of  beauty  upon  use. 

A  perfectly  furnished  house  is  a  crystalli- 
zation of  the  culture,  the  habits,  and  the 
tastes  of  the  family,  and  not  only  expresses 
but  makes  character. 

Children  living  in  such  a  home  grow  up 
with  the  knowledge  of  form  and  color,  a 
sense  of  beauty  and  fitness — in  short,  with 
a  standard  of  taste  which  in  maturity  stamps 
them  with  that  unconscious  superiority 
which  distinguishes  men  or  women  whose 
cultivation  has  been  gradual  and  unles- 
soned. 

It  is  the  completeness  of  a  home,  which 
includes  provision  for  the  mental  as  well  as 
physical  wants  of  the  complex  human  creat- 
ure, which  makes  some  houses  so  much 
more  delightful  than  others,  and  may  add 
to  the  simplicity  of  the  modest  summer  cot- 
tage a  comprehensive  charm  which  is  en- 
tirely lacking  in  many  an  elaborate  and 
overflowing  dwelling. 

A  summer  cottage  is  not  a  difficult  prob- 
lem to  deal  with,  if  it  is  constantly  remem- 
bered that  it  is  a  summer  cottage,  to  be  used 


through  only  a  portion  of  the  year,  ami  that 
portion  when  "out-of-doors,"  with  its  large 
bounty  of  light  and  air,  is  really  a  part  of 
the  house  and  home  life.  When  these  con- 
ditions are  not  fully  recognized  and  under- 
stood, it  argues  a  total  want  of  the  home- 
making  instinct,  as  well  as  an  absence  of 
the  gift  of  color,  should  the  house  fail  to  be 
satisfying  and  even  charming. 

After  the  purpose  of  the  house  is  fully 
considered,  its  position  conies  in  also  as  a 
condition  to  be  constantly  remembered, 
since  much  and  lasting  charm  is  derived 
from  harmony  of  motive  with  nature's  sur- 
roundings in  decoration,  and  choice  of  color 
as  appropriate  to  place.  Whatever  design 
appears  in  wall  -  decoration  or  hangings  is 
far  more  effective  if  it  bears  some  relation 
to  the  surroundings  and  place  of  the  house. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  classic  forms 
and  highly  artificial  designs  are  not  appro- 
priate in  cottages  of  the  character  we  are 
considering,  and  also  that  furniture  should 
be  simpler  and  lighter  than  in  houses  in- 
tended for  constant  family  liviug.  While 
chairs  and  sofas  should  be  entirely  without 
elaborate  upholstery,  hangings  and  cushions 
can  be  made  of  some  well-colored  cotton  or 
linen  material  which  wind  and  sun  and 


16 


dampness  cannot  spoil,  and  of  which  the 
freshness  can  always  be  restored  by  laun- 
drying.  These  are  general  rules,  appro- 
priate to  all  summer  cottages. 

A  house  which  is  to  be  closed  for  six  or 
eight  months  of  the  year  should  really,  to 
be  consistent,  be  inexpensively  furnished. 

If  the  house  is  by  the  sea,  the  walls 
should  repeat,  with  many  variations,  the 
tones  of  sea  and  sand  and  sky  :  the  gray- 
greens  of  sparse  grasses  and-  rushes;  the 
blues  which  change  from  blue  to  green 
with  every  cloud  -  shadow ;  the  pearl  tints 
which  become  rose  in  morning  or  evening 
light,  and  the  browns  and  olives  of  sea- 
mosses  aud  lichens.  This  treatment  of 
color  will  make  the  interior  of  the  house  a 
part  of  the  great  out-of-doors,  aud  create  a 
harmony  between  the  artificial  shelter  and 
nature. 

There  is  philosophy  in  following,  as  far 
as  the  limitations  of  simple  color  will  allow, 
the  changeableuess  and  fluidity  of  natural 
effects  along  the  shore,  aud  allowing  the 
inood  of  the  brief  summer  life  to  fall  into 
entire  harmony  with  the  dominant  expres- 
sion of  the  sea. 

If,  harmonious  color  being  once  secured, 
most  of  the  materials  used  in  the  furnish- 


17 


ing  of  the  bouse  are  chosen  for  design  based 
upon  or  suggested  by  forms  belonging  to 
the  life  of  the  sea,  an  impression  is  pro- 
duced of  having  entered  into  complete  and 
perfect  harmony  with  the  elements  and  as- 
pects of  nature.  The  artificialities  of  life 
fall  more  and  more  into  the  background, 
and  one  is  refreshed  with  a  sense  of  having 
established  relations  with  natural  surround- 
ings which  are  entirely  harmonious  and  sat- 
isfactory. 

It  may  seem  very  far-fetched  to  ascribe 
this  influence  to  appropriate  furnishings  of 
a  house,  but  the  house  is  the  shell  of  the 
human  being,  and  the  mental  shape  of  the 
inmate  must  necessarily  be  affected  by  its 
most  iutimate  surroundings. 

Suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
summer -house  is  placed  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  fields  and  trees  and  mountains,  it 
•will  be  found  that  strong  and  positive 
treatment  of  the  interior  is  more  in  har- 
mony with  nature.  Even  heavier  furniture 
looks  fitting  where  the  house  is  surrounded 
with  massive  tree-growths;  and  stronger 
and  more  positive  colors  cau  be  used  in 
hangings  and  draperies.  This  is  due  to  the 
deeper  and  more  positive  coloring  of  a  land- 
scape than  of  a  sea  view.  The  masses  of 


18 


strong  aud  slightly  varying  green  in  foliage, 
the  red-browns  or  vivid  greens  of  fields  and 
crops,  the  dark  lines  of  tree  trunks  and 
branches,  as  well  as  the  unchanging  forms 
of  rock  aud  hill-side,  call  for  a  corresponding 
strength  of  interior  effect.  It  is  a  curious 
fact,  also,  that  where  a  house  is  surrounded 
with  myriads  of  small  natural  forms  of 
leaves  and  flowers  and  grasses,  plain  spaces 
of  color  in  interiors,  or  spaces  where  form  is 
greatly  subordinated  to  color,  are  inoia 
grateful  to  the  eye  than  prominently  dec- 
orated surfaces.  A  repetition  of  small 
forms  which  exist  but  sparingly  in  nature, 
and  are  for  the  most  part  hidden  under 
lengths  of  liquid  blue,  is  pleasing  aud  sug- 
gestive in  a  home  by  the  sea ;  but  iu  the 
country,  where  form  is  prominent  and  posi- 
tive, and  prints  itself  constantly  upon  both 
mental  and  bodily  vision,  unbroken  color 
surfaces  are  found  to  be  far  more  agreeable. 
It  will  be  seen  that  general  principles  of 
furnishing  depend  upon  arbitrary  circum- 
stances and  natural  surroundings  quite  as 
much  as  upon  the  character  and  pursuits  of 
the  family  who  are  to  be  lodged,  aud  that 
the  final  charm  of  the  home  is  attained  by 
a  perfect  adaptation  of  principles  to  condi- 
tions both  of  nature  and  humanity. 


19 


Tliis  is  equally  true  of  all  classes  of  houses 
which  are  to  become  homes,  so  that  particu- 
lar directions  or  rules  for  the  sensible  and 
beautiful  arrangement  of  interiors  must  al- 
ways follow  the  guiding  incidents  of  class 
and  locality. 

The  circumstances  and  surroundings,  as 
well  as  the  kind  of  use  required  of  a  house, 
must  be  considered  as  conditions  of  beauty. 
Jt  is  equally  necessary  to  study  each  part  or 
division  of  the  house  to  secure  the  full  and 
complete  result. 

The  predominant  use  of  each  room  gives 
the  clew  to  the  best  rules  of  treatment  in 
decoration  and  furniture. 

For  instance,  the  hall,  being  an  interme- 
diate space  between  in  and  out  of  doors, 
should  be  colored  and  furnished  in  direct 
reference  to  this,  and  to  its  common  use  as  a 
thoroughfare  by  all  members  of  the  family. 
It  is  not  a  place  of  prolonged  occupation, 
and  may  therefore  properly  be  without  the 
luxury  and  ease  of  lounges  and  louuging- 
chairs.  But  as  long  as  it  serves  both  as  en- 
trance-room to  the  house  and  for  carrying 
the  stairways  to  the  upper  floors,  it  should 
be  treated  in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  up  to 
and  prepare  the  mind  for  whatever  of  inner 
luxury  there  may  be  in  the  house.  At  the 


same  time  it  should  preserve  something  of 
the  simplicity  and  freedom  from  all  at- 
tempt at  effect  which  beloug  to  out-of-door 
life.  The  difference  hetweeu  its  decoration 
and  furniture  and  that  of  other  divisions  of 
the  house  should  be  principally  in  surface, 
and  not  in  color. 

Difference  of  surface  is  secured  by  the  use 
of  materials  which  are  permanent  and  dur- 
able in  effect,  such  as  wood,  plaster,  and 
leather.  These  may  all  be  colored  without 
injury  to  their  impression  of  permanency, 
although  it  is  generally  preferable  to  take 
advantage  of  indigenous  or  "  inherent  col- 
or," like  the  natural  yellows  and  russets  of 
wood  and  leather. 

When  these  are  used  for  both  walls  and 
ceiling,  it  will  be  found  that,-  to  give  the 
necessary  variation,  and  prevent  an  impres- 
sion of  monotony  and  dulness,  some  tint 
must  be  added  in  the  ornament  of  the  sur- 
face, which  could  be  gained  by  a  forcible 
deepening  or  variation  of  the  general  tone, 
like  a  deep  golden  brown,  which  is  the  low- 
est tone  of  the  scale  of  yellow,  or  a  red, 
which  would  be  only  a  variant  of  the  pre- 
vailing tint. 

The  introduction  of  an  opposing  or  con- 
trasting tint,  like  pale  blue  in  small  masses 


21 


as  compared  with  the  general  tint,  even  if 
it  is  in  so  small  a  space  as  that  of  a  water- 
color  on  the  wall,  adds  what  an  artist  calls 
snap  to  the  general  effect,  and  enlivens  and 
invigorates  a  harmony. 

Perhaps  no  color  carries  with  it  a  more 
appropriate  influence  at  the  entrance  of  a 
house  than  red  in  its  different  values.  Cer- 
tain tints  of  it,  which  are  known  both  as 
Pompeiaii  and  Damascus  red,  have  suffi- 
cient yellow  in  their  composition  to  fall  in 
with  the  yellows  of  oiled  wood,  and  give 
the  charm  of  a  variant  but  related  color.  In 
its  stronger  and  deeper  tones  it  is  in  direct 
contrast  to  the  green  of  abundant  foliage, 
and  therefore  a  good  color  for  the  entrance- 
hall  or  vestibule  of  a  country  house ;  while 
the  paler  tones,  which  run  into  pinks,  hold 
the  same  opposing  relation  to  the  gray  and 
blue  of  the  sea-shore.  If  walls  and  ceiling 
are  of  wood,  a  rug  of  which  the  prevailing 
color  is  red  will  often  give  the  exact  note 
which  is  needed  to  preserve  the  room  from 
monotony  and  insipidity. 

A  stair-carpet  is  a  valuable  point  to  make 
in  a  hall,  and  it  is  well  to  reserve  all  oppos- 
ing color  for  this  one  place,  which,  as  it 
rises,  meets  all  sight  on  a  level,  and  makes 
its  contrast  directly  and  unmistakably.  A 


stair-carpet  has  other  reasons  for  use  in  a 
country  house  than  aesthetic  ones,  as  the 
stairs  are  conductors  of  sound  to  all  parts  of 
the  house,  and  should  therefore  be  muffled, 
and  because  a  carpeted  stair  furnishes  much 
safer  footing  for  the  two  family  extremes  of 
childhood  and  age. 

The  furniture  of  the  hall  should  not  be 
fantastic,  as  some  cabinet-makers  seem  to 
imagine.  Impossible  twists  in  the  supports 
of  tables  and  chairs  are  perhaps  more  ob- 
jectionable in  this  first  vestibule  or  en- 
trance to  the  house  than  elsewhere,  because 
the  mind  is  not  quite  free  from  out-of-door 
influences,  or  ready  to  take  pleasure  in  the 
vagaries  of  the  human  fancy.  Simple 
chairs,  settles,  and  tables,  more  solid  per- 
haps than  is  desirable  in  other  parts  of  the 
house,  are  what  the  best  natural,  as  well  as 
the  best  cultivated,  taste  demands. 

If  there  is  one  place  more  than  another 
where  a  picture  performs  its  full  work  of 
suggestion  and  decoration,  it  is  in  a  hall 
which  is  otherwise  bare  of  ornament.  Pict- 
ures in  dining-rooms  make  very  little  im- 
pression as  pictures,  because  the  mind  is  en- 
grossed with  the  first  and  natural  purpose 
of  the  room,  and  consequently  not  in  a 
waiting  and  easily  impressible  mood ;  but 


in  a  ball,  if  one  stops  for  even  a  moment, 
the  thoughts  are  at  leisure,  and  waiting  to 
be  interested. 

Aside  from  the  color  effect,  which  may  be 
so  managed  as  to  be  very  valuable,  pictures 
hung  in  a  hall  are  full  of  suggestion  of 
wider  mental  and  physical  life,  and,  like 
books,  are  indications  of  the  tastes  and  ex- 
periences of  the  family.  Of  course  there  are 
country  houses  where  the  halls  are  built 
with  fireplaces,  and  windows  commanding 
favorite  views,  and  are  really  intended  for 
family  sitting-rooms  and  gathering-places  ; 
in  this  case  it  is  generally  preceded  by  a 
vestibule  which  carries  the  character  of  au 
entrance-hall,  leaving  the  large  room  to  be 
furnished  more  luxuriously,  as  is  proper  to 
a  sitting-room. 

The  dining-room  shares  with  the  hall  a 
purpose  common  to  the  life  of  the  family, 
and,  while  it  admits  of  much  more  variety 
and  elaboration,  that  which  is  true  of  the 
hall  is  equally  true  of  the  dining-room,  that 
it  should  be  treated  with  materials  whicli 
are  durable  and  have  surface  quality,  al- 
though its  decoration  should  be  preferably 
with  china  rather  than  with  pictures.  It  is 
important  that  the  color  of  a  dining-room 
should  be  pervading  color — that  is,  that 


walls  and  ceiling  should  be  kept  together 
by  the  use  of  one  color  only,  iu  different  de- 
grees of  strength. 

For  many  reasons,  but  principally  be- 
cause it  is  the  best  material  to  use  in  a 
diniug-room,  the  rich  yellows  of  oiled  wood 
make  the  most  desirable  color  and  surface. 
The  rug,  the  curtains,  the  portieres,  and 
screen,  can  then  be  of  any  good  tint  which 
the  exposure  of  the  room  and  the  decoration 
of  the  china  seem  to  indicate.  If  it  has 
a  cold  northern  exposure,  reds  or  gold 
browns  are  indicated ;  but  if  it  is  a  sunny 
and  warm  -  looking  room,  green  or  strong 
India  blue  will  be  found  more  satisfactory. 

The  materials  used  in  curtains,  portieres, 
and  screens  should  be  of  cotton  or  linen,  or 
some  plain  woollen  goods  which  are  as  easily 
washable.  A  one-colored,  heavy-threaded 
cotton  canvas,  a  plain  linen  ticking  in  solid 
color,  or  indigo-blue  domestic,  all  make  ex- 
tremely effective  and  appropriate  furnish- 
ings. The  variety  of  blue  domestic  whicli 
is  called  denim  is  the  best  of  all  fabrics  for 
this  kind  of  furnishing  if  the  color  is  not 
too  dark,  and  that  can  be  made  lighter  by 
bleaching. 

The  prettiest  country  house  dining-room 
I  know  is  ceiled  and  wainscoted  with  wood, 


the  walls  above  the  wainscoting  carrying 
an  ingrain  paper  of  the  yellow-brown  of  the 
wood ;  the  line  of  division  between  the 
wainscot  and  wall  being  broken  by  a  row 
of  old  bine  India  china  plates,  arranged  in 
groups  of  different  sizes  and  running  en- 
tirely around  the  room.  There  is  one  small 
mirror  set  in  a  broad  carved  frame  of  yellow 
wood  hung  in  the  centre  of  a  rather  large 
Avail-space,  its  angles  marked  by  small 
Dutch  plaques ;  but  the  whole  decoration 
of  the  room  outside  of  these  pieces  consists 
of  draperies  of  blue  denim  in  which  there  is 
a  design,  in  narrow  white  outline,  of  leap- 
ing fish,  and  the  widening  water-circles  and 
showery  drops  made  by  their  play.  The 
white  lines  in  the  design  answer  to  the 
white  spaces  in  the  decorated  china,  and 
the  two  used  together  in  profusion  have  an 
unexpectedly  decorative  effect.  The  table 
and  chairs  are,  of  course,  of  the  same  colored 
wood  used  in  the  ceiling  and  wainscot,  and 
the  rug  is  an  India  cotton  of  dark  and  light 
blues  and  white.  The  sideboard  is  an  ar- 
rangement of  fixed  shelves,  but  covered 
with  a  beautiful  collection  of  blue  china, 
which  serves  to  furnish  the  table  as  well. 

If  the  dining-room  bad  a  northern  expos- 
ure, and  it  was  desirable  to  use  red  instead 


of  blue  for  coloring,  as  good  an  effect  could 
be  secured  by  depending  for  ornament  upon 
the  red  Kaga  porcelain  so  common  at  pres- 
ent in  Japanese  and  Chinese  shops,  and 
using  with  it  the  Eastern  cotton  known  as 
tes.  This  is  dyed  with  madder,  and  exactly 
repeats  the  red  of  the  porcelain,  while  it  is 
extremely  durable  both  in  color  and  text- 
ure. Borders  of  yellow  stitchery,  or  strag- 
gling fringes  of  silk  and  beads,  add  very 
much  to  the  effect  of  the  drapery  and  to  the 
character  of  the  room. 

The  parlor  of  a  country  house  is  often,  or 
generally,  a  composite  room.  It  answers 
the  purpose  of  a  receptiou-room  for  guests, 
and  it  is  also,  if  the  house  does  not  contain 
a  library  or  sitting-room,  the  only  iu-door 
gathering-place  of  the  family.  If  the  house 
includes  a  library  or  sitting-room,  the  par- 
lor can  be  made  uinch  more  exclusive  in 
treatment — not  always,  however,  to  its  ad- 
vantage, even  from  an  aesthetic  point  of 
view. 

It  is  a  kiud  of  homage  we  pay  to  friend- 
ship, and  to  the  people  whom  we  value  out- 
side of  the  family,  to  set  apart  one  room  for 
their  visits,  and  this  room,  in  deference  to 
the  sentiment  of  friendship  and  to  the  sup- 
posed largeness  of  the  circle  which  com- 


prises  it,  has  generally  more  space  and  is 
more  carefully  proportioned  than  any  other 
of  the  rooms  in  the  house.  Ou  account  of 
this  unconscious  dedication  to  society  in 
general,  it  is  desirable  to  treat  it  with  a  con- 
servatism of  taste  and  liberality  of  expendi- 
ture which  are  not  appropriate  in  other 
rooms.  It  would  be  impossible  to  give  a 
formula  for  furnishing  such  a  room,  but 
general  treatment  can  be  suggested  and  gen- 
eral ideas  given,  which  may  be  adapted  to 
the  different  wants  of  different  situations 
and  families. 

It  must  begin  by  being  beautiful  in  color, 
and  as,  if  it  is  used  strictly  as  a  parlor  or 
reception-room,  it  will  lack  the  variety  and 
richness  which  is  given  to  the  library  by 
books,  lounging-chairs,  and  all  the  odds  and 
ends  of  comfort  and  use  which  distinguish 
the  family-room  of  the  house,  it  will  be  nec- 
essary from  the  very  first  to  keep  to  a  gen- 
eral idea  of  delicacy  and  elegance,  no  mat- 
ter how  simple  the  furniture  and  decorations 
are  intended  to  be.  It  may  be  like  a  lady's 
summer  afternoon  toilet  of  fresh  muslins 
and  ribbons,  or  one  of  richer  material,  but 
the  idea  of  being  prepared  for  observation 
and  for  criticism  properly  underlies  all  that 
goes  to  make  up  the  parlor  or  reception- 


91 


room.  In  the  life  of  the  house,  it  answers 
to  the  afternoon  toilet  of  the  individual. 

The  walls  may  be  hung  with  paper  or 
chintz,  or  they  may  be  painted,  and  carry  a 
stencilled  frieze  or  a  scattered  design  done 
in  gold  or  silver;  but  there  should  be  a  pre- 
vailing tone  or  tint  of  color,  which  holds 
and  softens  all  the  differing  elements  which 
make  up  the  interior,  as  the  misty  atmos- 
phere of  a  landscape  softens  all  the  hard 
and  rocky  features  which  compose  it.  The 
tint  may  be  blue  or  green  or  rose  or  cream, 
but  it  must  be  delicate,  and  everything 
which  goes  to  make  up  the  whole  should  be 
in  gradations  of  the  same  tint ;  or  it  may  be 
in  white,  or  in  pale  yellow,  which  has  the 
property  of  harmonious  combination  in  a 
greater  degree  than  any  other  color. 

If  the  walls  are  hung  with  paper  which 
carries  some  design,  the  curtains  should  be 
of  a  plain  tint,  without  design  ;  but  if,  on 
the  contrary,  the  walls  are  plain,  the  cur- 
tains may  well  introduce  design. 

This  is  by  no  means  an  invariable  rule, 
for  one  of  the  most  delightful  color  effects 
in  the  world  is  produced  by  walls  of  a  pale 
greenish  blue,  and  India  silk  curtains  of 
the  same  tint  but  darker  in  tone,  which 
give  all  the  variation  possible  to  one  color 


29 


by  the  transparent  effect  of  light  through 
them. 

For  a  summer  room  of  this  character  the 
floor  should  not  be  covered  with  carpet,  but 
show  the  floor  between  white  goat's-hair 
rugs,  or  other  rugs  of  sufficiently  soft  tints 
for  the  purpose ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  find 
India  rugs  sufficiently  light  in  tone  not  to 
seem  positive  and  harsh  in  a  room  as  dainty 
as  this. 

One  or  two  water-colors  in  narrow  gold 
frames  are  almost  necessary  to  the  effect  of 
such  a  scheme  of  decoration  if  the  walls  are 
plain',  but  if  they  are  covered  with  figured 
paper  or  chintz,  these  are  not  so  imperative- 
ly needed.  Photographs  of  interesting  pict- 
ures mounted  in  white-wood  frames  seem 
also  to  be  in  accord  with  a  room  treated  in 
this  fashion. 

The  furniture  should  be  of  light  wood  or 
of  cane  painted  white,  and  furnished  with 
abuudaut  cushions  of  various  tints  which 
are  in  harmony  with  the  general  color.  It 
is  quite  possible  to  play  a  color-chord  iu 
snch  trifles  as  this  which  will  go  far  towards 
completing  the  successful  influence  of  the 
room. 

After  all,  the  final  charm  of  any  room 
lies  in  the  addition  of  bits  of  things  which 


give  character  as  well  as  beauty  —  little 
treasures  which  are  too  choice  for  the  wear 
and  tear  of  every  day :  a  cup  of  Venetian 
glass  which  cau  be  carried  iu  the  tray  of  a 
truuk  and  go  back  to  the  city  home  when 
summer  is  over ;  a  small,  smooth  plaster 
copy  of  a  Barye  bronze :  the  latest  and 
daintiest  books;  and,  above  all,  here  and 
there  a  jar  of  flowers,  or  branches  which  go 
with  the  room.  These  are  the  things  which 
complete  and  perfect  any  scheme  of  beauti- 
ful color,  aud  give  character  to  a  delicate 
interior. 

In  considering  the  treatment  of  a  room 
which  must  serve  the  purpose  of  both  recep- 
tiou-roorn  and  library  or  family  gathering- 
room,  it  is  necessary  to  keep  in  mind  this 
double  use.  If  it  is  a  large  one — and  it 
needs  to  be  for  this  double  and  almost  op- 
posing dedication — it  is  possible  to  harmo- 
nize the  claims  of  ceremony  aud  of  family 
ease  by  the  arrangement  of  certain  parts  of 
the  room  for  the  one  and  for  the  other,  de- 
fending the  family  lounge  or  writing-table 
or  easy-chairs  by  au  outwork  which  may  be 
a  screen,  or  a  judiciously  looped  curtain, 
the  back  of  au  upright  piano,  or  a  double 
bank  of  book-shelves  turning  an  irre- 
proachable phalanx  of  decorative  standard 


editions  to  the  caller  who  does  not  know 
the  password,  and  showing  the  well-thumbed 
shabbiuess  of  the  familiar  literary  ne'er-do- 
well  to  the  family  side  of  the  room.  Such  a 
room  is  apt  to  be  a  fascinating  one  by  rea- 
son of  this  very  variety  of  use  and  purpose, 
and  because  it  is  a  centre  for  all  the  family 
treasures.  Books,  pictures,  papers,  photo- 
graphs, bits  of  decorative  needle-work,  all 
centre  here,  and  all  are  on  most  orderly  be- 
havior, like  children  at  company  dinner. 

The  color  of  such  a  room  may,  and  should, 
be  much  warmer  and  stronger  than  that  of 
a  parlor  pure  and  simple,  the  very  constancy 
and  hardness  of  its  use  indicating  tints  of 
strength  and  resistance ;  but,  keeping  that 
in  mind,  the  rules  for  general  use  of  color 
and  harmony  of  tints  will  apply  as  well  to 
a  room  used  for  a  double  purpose  as  for  a 
single. 

Of  course  the  furniture  should  be  more 
solid  and  darker,  as  would  be  necessary  for 
constant  use,  but  the  deepening  of  tones  in 
general  color  provides  for  that,  and  for  the 
use  of  rugs  of  a  different  character.  In  a 
room  of  this  kind  perhaps  the  best  possible 
effect  is  produced  by  the  use  of  some  textile 
as  a  wall-covering,  as  in  that  case  the  same 
material  with  a  contrasted  color  in  the 


39 


lining  can  be  used  for  curtains,  and  to  some 
extent  in  the  furniture. 

This  use  of  one  material  has  not  only  an 
effect  of  richness  due  to  the  best  room  of 
the  house,  but  it  softens  and  brings  together 
all  the  heterogeneous  things  which  different 
members  of  a  large  family  are  apt  to  require 
iii  a  sitting-room. 

The  bedrooms  of  a  house  demand  the  ut- 
most individuality  of  expression,  and  are  a 
pretty  sure  test  of  the  liberality  of  the  mind 
and  understanding  of  character  of  the  female 
sharer  iu  the  house  partnership. 

As  each  room  is  in  a  certain  sense  the 
home  of  the  individual  occupant,  almost  the 
shell  of  his  or  her  mind,  there  will  be  some- 
thing narrow  and  despotic  in  the  house 
rules  if  this  is  not  expressed.  The  fact 
should  never  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  first 
principle  of  beauty  is  appropriateness,  and 
no  room  could  be  beautiful  which  failed  to 
express  the  individuality  of  the  occupant. 

Even  in  advance  of  this  reference  to  indi- 
viduality, color  must  come  iu  as  the  prime 
factor  of  beauty.  Strong,  simple,  good 
color  is  a  proper  fouudatiou  for  any  treat- 
ment of  country  interiors. 

All  bedroom  walls  aud  furnishings  should 
bo  washable,  aud  therefore  papers  and  car- 


pets  should  not  come  into  the  list  of  possi- 
bilities. Stained  or  painted  walls  and  par- 
tially uncovered  floors  are  a  necessity,  but  a 
liberal  use  of  washable  textiles  in  curtains, 
portieres,  bedspreads,  and  table-covers  will 
give  quite  as  much  sense  of  luxury  as  dec- 
orated walls  and  carpets.  In  fact,  one  may 
run  through  all  the  variations,  from  the 
daintiest  aud  most  befrilled  and  elegant  of 
bedrooms  to  the  "  boys'  room,"  which  in- 
cludes all  or  any  of  the  various  implements 
of  sport  or  the  hobbies  of  the  boy  collector, 
and  yet  keep  inviolate  the  principles  of  har- 
mony of  color  aud  appropriateness  to  use, 
and  so  accomplish  beauty. 

I  liave  taken  the  summer  cottage,  or  the 
country  house,  as  an  illustration  of  the  laws 
of  color,  treatment,  aud  arrangement  of  in- 
teriors, because  it  is  the  country  house  which 
more  generally  comes  under  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  inexperienced  home-maker  ;  but 
the  philosophy  which  should  govern  the 
treatment  of  the  most  elaborate  and  costly 
interior,  whether  for  public  or  private  use, 
and  that  which  will  make  the  simplest  cot- 
tage a  success,  is  identical.  It  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  appropriateness,  and  the  intelligent 
and  instructive  use  of  color.  Of  course,  in 
public  buildings  the  color  effect  depends 
3 


upon  materials  aud  not  upon  use  of  pig- 
ments, but  the  architect  who  should  ignore 
the  effect  of  color  and  reflection  in  his  ma- 
terials would  lose  almost  as  much  as  be 
could  hope  to  gain  by  proportion. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  AMERICAN 
HOMES. 

BY  MRS.   M.    G.  VAN  RENSSELAER. 

THE  social  condition  of  the  communities 
of  the  past  may  be  divined  in  a  broad  way 
from  a  mere  list  of  their  most  conspicuous 
and  characteristic  buildings.  How  much  is 
told  when  we  say  that  the  typical  structures 
in  Egypt  were  stupendous  temple  -  palaces 
and  rock-hewn  tombs ;  in  Assyria  palaces 
that  were  not  temples ;  and  in  Greece  temples 
that  were  not  palaces,  but  the  people's  treas- 
uries and  trophy-chambers,  and  near  neigh- 
bors of  the  public  rostrum.  How  large  a 
glimpse  of  history  is  afforded  by  the  thought 
that  the  Romans  were  especially  construct- 
ors of  bridges,  aqueducts,  amphitheatres, 
and  triumphal  arches;  that  mediaeval  Eu- 
rope built  chiefly  fortified  castles  and  huge 
churches ;  and  that  in  later  times  the  Low 
Countries  expressed  themselves  in  town- 
halls  and  trade-halls,  France  iu  royal  cha- 


teaus,  Italy  in  princely  city  palaces,  and 
England  in  baronial  country  homes. 

Civilization  is  more  complex  to-day  than 
in  earlier  ages,  and  communities  less  isolated 
and  therefore  less  individual;  and  for  both 
these  reasons  architecture  nowhere  devotes 
itself  conspicuously  to  any  single  class  of 
buildings.  It  expresses  national  traits  and 
social  facts  with  as  much  truth  as  ever;  only 
these  traits  are  less  strongly  marked,  these 
facts  are  more  numerous  and  involved,  and 
so  the  record  in  stone  is  less  easily  deci- 
phered. Nevertheless,  there  are  character- 
istic, typical  buildings  to  be  found  in  every 
laud,  and  they  may  be  discovered  if  we  re- 
verse the  process  of  thought,  and,  instead  of 
reading  history  in  architecture,  read  archi- 
tecture in  the  light  of  social  conditions. 
From  the  temple  -  palaces  and  tombs  of 
Egypt  we  can  reconstruct  in  the  rough  Egyp- 
tian society ;  but  likewise,  were  all  the  build- 
ings of  Egypt  lost,  we  might  imagine  their 
nature  had  we  any  knowledge  of  her  people 
and  her  rulers.  Surely,  then,  we  must  know 
enough  of  our  own  country  to  determine, 
amid  all  the  welter  of  current  architectural 
effort,  where  it  is  that  we  most  clearly  and 
characteristically  express  ourselves. 

A  truism  brings  us  indeed  at  once  to  our 


87 


goal.  Every  American  knows,  every  for- 
eigner sees,  that  ours  is  a  laud  not  for  a  class 
or  caste,  but  for  the  people  as  a  whole. 
This  means  that  it  must  be  a  land  upon 
which  individual  rather  than  federal,  mu- 
nicipal, or  corporate  activity  has  set  its 
mark.  When  individuals  build,  it  is  houses 
to  live  in,  shops  and  offices  to  work  in ;  and 
so  our  choice  of  typical  buildings  must  lie 
between  these  two  classes.  As  between  the 
two  it  is  not  hard  to  select.  Be  it  ever  so 
costly  and  conspicuous,  ever  so  novel  in  di- 
mensions, design,  aud  arrangement,  ever  so 
interesting  from  the  purely  architectural 
poiut  of  view,  a  business  building  caunot 
express  the  personality  of  its  owner  as  does 
the  house  in  which  he  lives.  Aud  it  is  the 
expression  of  personalities  in  the  aggregate, 
the  expression  of  the  men  and  women  who 
make  up  a  nation,  which  gives  a  class  of 
structures  a  truly  typical  character.  To  see 
where  the  American  people  stands  in  the 
matter  of  taste,  to  see  how  far  it  has  got  on 
the  road  of  {esthetic  progress,  and  whither 
this  road  is  likely  to  lead,  we  must  look  at 
its  homes  and  especially  at  their  interiors. 

The  first  fact  they  prove  is  the  truth  of 
the  truism  just  set  down.  Ours  is  a  land 
for  the  people :  its  immense  wealth  is  very 


38 


•widely  distributed.  Even  our  few  biggest 
and  finest  city  houses  do  not  equal  the  many 
private  hotels  of  modern  Paris,  nor  would 
our  most  magnificent  country  homes  take 
similar  rank  in  England.  But  on  the  other 
hand  an  English  architect  recently  said  to 
his  professional  brethren:  "Take  the  ordi- 
nary house  of  the  middle-class  American  and 
compare  it  with  the  building  of  the  same 
class  on  this  side,  and  I  think  the  odds  will 
be  found  to  be  largely  in  favor  of  the 
former."  If  we  are  in  search  of  the  lessons 
as  well  as  of  the  facts  that  our  typical 
buildings  teach,  do  we  not  find  one  just 
here?  It  is  the  lesson  that  in  America  prog- 
ress in  art  must  come  as  a  general  advance 
of  the  whole  nation.  The  improvement  of 
a  class  cannot  help  us  much  when  we  have 
really  no  upper  class  permanently  marked 
off  by  birth  or  possessions.  Architecture 
cannot  here  devote  itself  to  country  homes 
like  those  of  which  we  think  when  we  say 
"Elizabethan  art,"  or  to  city  palaces  like 
those  which  resume  the  meaning  of  the 
words  "Italian  Kenaissauce  art."  It  is 
above  all  the  average  dwelling  that  will  be 
improved  if  our  architecture  grows,  and  of 
course  it  can  be  improved  only  by  the  devel- 
opment of  good  taste  in  the  public  at  large. 


:tO 


What  now  is  the  present  condition  of  this 
dwelling  more  narrowly  examined? 

The  Englishman  just  quoted  says  that  our 
city  homes,  whether  single  houses  or  apart- 
ment houses,  are  particularly  well  planned 
both  for- convenience  and  for  beauty.  We 
may  venture  to  include  our  best  country 
homes  in  the  verdict,  and  may  be  greatly 
pleased  with  it,  remembering  that  to  plan 
well  is  the  beginning,  source,  and  inspiration 
of  all  architectural  excellence.  A  French- 
man who  also  wrote  about  us  not  long  ago 
says  that  iu  our  house-architecture,  especial- 
ly, we  pay  too  much  attention  to  contour  and 
silhouette,  and  thus  render  our  plans  irregu- 
lar, but  that  "notwithstanding  this  defect" 
there  is  a  great  charm  about  our  houses, 
villas,  and  cottages  which  are  "less  formal 
and  far  more  home-like"  than  their  English 
prototypes.  The  first  fact  he  mentions  is 
a  fact,  but  he  has  got  it,  so  to  say,  by  the 
wrong  end.  It  is  because  we  distinctly  want 
diversity  and  irregularity  in  our  plans  that 
our  houses  show  broken  masses  and  outlines. 
We  think  much  less  of  exterior  effect  than 
Frenchmen  who,  to  keep  the  outside  of  a 
house  dignified  and  harmonious,  make  use 
of  plans  which,  while  excellent  for  French- 
men, would  never  content  the  American  soul. 


•iO 


Nor  is  the  irregularity  of  our  plans  really 
a  defect.  We  ought  not  to  be  couteut  with 
the  simpler,  more  formalized  planning  of 
French  houses.  Architecture  can  never  be 
anything  unless  it  is  the  faithful  interpreter 
of  actual  needs,  instinctive  wants.;  and  in 
their  homes  men  of  so-called  Anglo-Saxon 
blood  need  comfort  in  a  much  more  detailed, 
complicated,  and  varied  sense  of  the  word 
than  is  understood  by  men  of  Latin  blood. 
In  most  artistic  matters  we  are  unlike  the 
English ;  but  our  iuherited  wish  that  a 
house  should  exactly  fit  the  needs  of  its  in- 
habitants has  drawn  us  pretty  close  to  them 
in  our  ideals  of  domestic  architecture.  Yet 
we  have  fallen  into  no  slavish  imitation. 
For  instance,  our  customs  in  feuestratlon 
are  very  different  from  theirs,  because  we 
need  rather  to  exclude  the  summer  sun  than 
to  admit  it  generously,  and  our  love  for  wide 
verandas  is  certainly  indigenous.  And  does 
not  the  French  critic  say  that  in  general  we 
have  improved  upon  our  English  models  ? 

If,  then,  our  plans  are  irregular  and  varied, 
it  means  that  we  have  started  right  in  the 
path  of  domestic  architecture  ;  and  if  they 
are  excellent,  it  means  that  we  have  made 
the  first  and  most  important  step  in  advance. 
So  here  is  the  second  lesson :  Let  us  cherish 


our  instinct  for  individual  expression  in 
the  planning  of  our  homes  while  trying  iu 
their  exteriors  to  attain  more  unity,  dignity, 
and  grace  than  as  a  rule  we  have  yet 
achieved. 

Let  us  cherish  this  instinct,  I  say.  It 
might  better  be  written,  Let  us  develop  it 
to  a  nicer,  keener  sensibility  than  we  feel 
to-day.  Many  of  our  recent  homes  are  quite 
perfect  in  their  planning,  not  only  as  exer- 
cises of  architectural  skill,  but  as  expres- 
sions of  the  special  needs,  habits,  and  tastes 
of  their  occupants.  But  in  others,  especially 
of  the  costlier  kinds,  which  are  equally  good 
if  considered  as  solutions  of  an  abstract 
problem,  we  see  in  the  character  of  the 
problem  an  affectation  of  needs  that  did  not 
exist.  The  American  client  does  not  think, 
as  a  foolish  French  client  might,  that  he 
should  sacrifice  the  interior  to  the  exterior 
of  his  house,  but  he  sometimes  is  willing 
that  the  interior  should  misrepresent  him- 
self. If  we  have  much  money  but  no  desire 
or  no  opportunity  to  lead  a  hospitable  social 
life,  we  may  need  a  big  house  and  a  hand- 
some one,  but  we  do  not  need  one  like  our 
neighbor's  where  dinners  and  balls  are  of 
constant  occurrence.  Stately,  somewhat 
stiffish  drawing-rooms  are  a  necessity  to 


him,  and  a  dining-room  to  seat  four  dozen 
guests.  To  us  they  are  worse  than  luxuries : 
they  are  affectations,  and  so  both  vulgar  and 
inartistic.  Getting  them  we  may  get  in  one 
sense  a  beautiful  house.  But  it  will  not  be 
a  good  house,  for  it  will  have  little  more  ex- 
pression, vitality,  or  human  interest  than  a 
piece  of  scene-painting.  Nor  will  the  chance 
we  give  in  its  construction  help  the  advance 
of  art  as  much  as  though  we  should  say 
to  our  architect:  "Build  me  a  house  in 
which  I  and  my  family  can  live  thus  and  so; 
make  it  big,  make  it  beautiful,  but  give  me 
a  billiard-room  for  the  boys  instead  of  a  ball- 
room for  the  guests  who  will  never  come,  a 
great  play -room  for  the  children,  a  fine 
office  or  library  for  my  work,  a  gallery  for 
my  pictures — rooms  for  us  to  live  in,  not 
rooms  which  exist  merely  because  it  is  '  the 
thing'  to  have  them.  Make  it  my  house, 
my  own,  not  just  a  house,  however  beauti- 
ful." If  we  do  not  say  something  like  this, 
how  are  we  more  intelligent  than  the  farm- 
ers' wives  we  laugh  at  because  they  live  in 
the  kitchen  and  open  the  parlor  only  for 
weddings  and  funerals?  Here,  then,  lies 
another  lesson  :  If  we  want  good  houses  and 
if  we  want  our  architecture  to  grow  supple, 
subtile,  skilful,  and  apt  for  any  task,  we 


should  know  iu  aclvauce  exactly  how  we 
mean  to  live,  and  demand  a  house  which 
exactly  expresses  that  intention. 

General  success  in  the  arrangement  of  our 
homes  is  a  product  of  recent  days,  and  hand 
in  hand  with  it  has  come  also  progress  in 
the  matter  of  their  fashioning.  Look  back 
some  fifty  years,  and  we  see  chiefly  white 
walls,  articles  of  furniture  that  are  plain 
and  few,  and  draperies  meant  to  keep  out 
the  draughts  rather  than  please  the  eye. 
Pass  over  some  twenty  years,  and  we  come 
to  gold  or  "velvet"  wall-papers  and  costly 
"suites"  of  rosewood  and  satin  furniture, 
while  the  ornamentation  which  was  almost 
wholly  lacking  before  is  supplied  by  gilded 
cornices  and  mirror- frames,  Landseer  en- 
gravings, a  few  dismal  pictures,  and  bronzes 
of  strictly  commercial  quality.  Of  course 
there  were  exceptions  to  the  rule  during 
both  these  periods,  but  such  were  the  typ- 
ical homes  of  America  until  the  present  gen- 
eration began  to  build.  In  the  first  period 
we  wanted  serviceable,  respectable-looking 
houses ;  in  the  second  we  wanted  "  hand- 
some" houses;  but  in  neither  did  we  think 
much  of  beauty  or  interfere  much  with  the 
upholsterer,  not  yet  risen  to  the  rank  of  a 
"  decorative  artist." 


There  is  much  in  the  very  sound  of  the 
words  "decorative  art"  to  make  the  judi- 
cious grieve,  aud  more  in  the  results  of  our 
recent  devotion  to  the  ideas  they  have  been 
made  to  convey.  One  is  sometimes  almost 
tempted  to  feel,  indeed,  that  the  art  of  mak- 
ing beautiful  homes,  which  is  architect- 
ure, has  had  no  deadlier  enemy  in  America 
than  the  "artist  in  decoration."  Neverthe- 
less, he  and  his  kin,  including  the  house- 
mother who  imitates  him  in  amateur  fash- 
ion, and  all  their  results,  from  the  Fifth 
Avenue  house,  which  looks  more  like  Sy- 
pher's  shop  than  like  a  home,  to  the  cottage 
bestrewed  with  silly  paintings,  Japanese 
fans,  coarse  pottery,  and  ribbon  bows — all 
these  have  been  signs  of  a  most  happy 
change,  heralds  of  a  promising  advance. 
They  mark  the  time  when  indifference  to 
ugliness  passed  away  ;  the  period  they  il- 
lustrate is  the  first  within  the  memory  of 
living  Americans  when  a  desire  for  beauty 
in  the  home  has  been  genuine  aud  wide- 
spread. It  is  not  wonderful  that  a  desire 
so  new  should  have  failed  at  first  to  find  the 
right  expression,  or  even  the  right  road  tow- 
ards expression.  It  is  natural  that  we  should 
have  thought  at  first,  not  of  art,  but  of"  dec- 
oration," aud  should  have  employed  "  dec- 


4.-, 


orators"  instead  of  artists;  or,  when  forced 
to  depend  on  ourselves,  that  we  should  have 
studied,  not  the  eternal  canons  of  beauty, 
but  some  novel,  superficial  doctrine  of 
"household  beauty."  I  do  not  wish  to 
imply  that  among  our  decorators  there  have 
been  no  artists,  or  that  none  of  their  work 
is  well  adapted  to  aid  the  beauty  of  our 
homes.  I  mean  merel}7  that  we  have  given 
primary  rank  to  secondary  things,and  wrong- 
ly employed  the  talents  at  our  disposal.  We 
have  thought  that  a  mass  of  beautiful  minor 
things  might  make  the  one  large  beautiful 
thing  we  wanted.  Sometimes  we  have  even 
bought  our  things  first,  built  a  house  to 
hold  them,  and  been  surprised  if  the  result 
lacked  coherence,  meaning,  individuality, 
and  charm.  Of  course  the  way  in  which 
many  of  us  live — camping  in  hired  houses — 
has  had  much  to  do  with  twisting  our  per- 
ceptions of  true  beauty.  Necessity  rather 
than  choice  has  often  limited  us  to  the  ef- 
fort to  disguise  the  architectural  sins  of 
those  who  had  not  built  with  our  tastes  in 
mind.  But  we  have  been  too  well  satisfied 
with  the  result,  have  misconceived  its  char- 
acter, and  carelessly  imitated  it  when  getting 
houses  of  our  own. 

However,  this  stage,  too,  is  passing  away. 


•Ki 


We  are  learning  that  all  art  is  one,  that  no 
sharp  line  can  be  drawn  between  what  is 
decorative  aud  what  is  not,  and  that  things 
which  are  less  than  "  artistic "  cannot  be 
properly  "  effective  iu  decoration."  We  are 
learning  that  we  may  show  our  love  for  art 
otherwise  than  by  "  collecting,"  aud  may 
create  our  homes  iu  better  ways  than  by 
turning  them  into  museums.  We  are  learn- 
ing that  the  essence  of  all  beauty  is  design  ; 
that  a  clear,  coherent  idea  should  underlie 
every  effort;  that  to  get  a  beautiful  house 
we  must  build  it  beautifully  and  furnish  it 
iu  a  harmonious  way. 

And  very  beautiful  houses  have  been 
built  iu  America  of  late,  from  city  homes 
that  are  little  palaces  to  modest  country 
cottages  which  are  none  the  less  sensible 
for  being  eminently  picturesque.  As  a  rule 
our  country  houses  are  the  best.  Here  we 
are  most  successful  because  at  once  most 
rational  and  most  individual,  least  conven- 
tional aud  imitative,  least  beset  by  the  de- 
sire for  mere  display  or  for  mere  collecting. 
Here  we  have  most  frequently  asked  for  just 
what  we  wanted,  aud  wanted  things  of  a 
sensible  kind.  Here  our  native  desires  and 
tastes  most  genuinely  express  themselves, 
and  we  find  the  buildings  we  should  prefer 


to  show  a  foreigner  as  both  very  American 
and  very  good.  Of  course  here  and  there  in 
our  cities  we  may  pick  out  a  building  which 
equals  our  best  country  homes  iii  true  ex- 
cellence, and  surpasses  them  by  far  in  pure 
architectural  importance.  But  I  am  speak- 
ing now  of  classes  of  buildings,  and  I  am 
sure  we  have  a  better  right  to  be  proud  of 
our  country  homes  as  a  class  than  of  our 
municipal  structures,  our  churches,  our  busi- 
ness blocks,  or  anything  else  that  is  ours. 
Naturally,  we  may  be  glad  of  the  fact  iu 
view  of  their  typical,  representative  char- 
acter. To  have  begun  well  iu  the  build- 
ings which  most  clearly  show  the  desires 
and  aims  of  the  American  people  as  a  whole 
entitles  us  to  hope  for  future  success  along 
all  other  architectural  paths. 

Let  us  see  now  whether  we  can  guess 
from  the  character  of  our  new  homes  in 
what  direction  these  other  paths  may  lead 
us.  If  anything  that  can  bo  called  an  Amer- 
ican style  has  yet  given  signs  of  itself,  we 
ought  to  read  them  here ;  and  if  we  find 
them  here  we  should  at  least  reflect  upon 
their  possible  prophetic  value.  Of  course 
no  one  can  predict  how  an  "  architecture  of 
the  future  "  may  develop,  because  the  world 
of  to -day,  fed  on  much  knowledge,  keen 


criticism,  wide  appreciation,  and  amateur 
theoretical  preaching,  is  very  different  from 
those  old  artistic  worlds  where  men  knew 
only  the  work  of  countries  close  at  haud, 
had  small  antiquarian  reverence  or  aesthetic 
sympathy  for  the  work  of  their  predecessors, 
and  did  their  own  work  in  an  instinctive, 
untheoretical,  boldly  creative  way.  Perhaps 
there  will  never  again  be  a  period  when  all 
architects  shall  build  in  the  same  spirit, 
when  one  style  shall  rule  in  great  works  and 
small  until,  carried  to  its  logical  end,  it  shall 
form  the  soil  for  another  development  as 
wide-spreading  and  harmonious.  Perhaps 
when  American  architecture  eventually  does 
its  best,  it  will  build — as  it  does  to-day — 
things  of  a  hundred  different  sorts.  But  I 
do  not  think  so.  I  might  give  many  reasons, 
all  seeming  to  point  towards  harmony  if  not 
absolute  unity  as  an  unalterable  condition 
of  architectural  triumph.  But  I  have  only 
time  to  cite  the  evidence  of  one  fact — the 
fact  that  in  our  house-building  we  have  even 
now  begun  to  agree  upon  something  which 
may  be  called  a  style. 

Many  of  our  new  country  homes,  if  we 
look  at  their  outside  only,  seem  to  be  built 
in  no  style  at  all,  being  quite  devoid  of  or- 
nament, dependent  for  their  effect  on  mass 


and  outline  only,  and  differing  in  mass  and 
outline  from  any  Old-World  models.  But 
look  inside.  Here  there  must  be  some  de- 
gree of  ornament  if  tbe  house  is  more  than 
a  cabin,  lodge,  or  studio  built  for  a  half- 
camp-like  mode  of  life.  If  it  is  very  sumpt- 
uous we  may  possibly  find  that,  while  much 
attention  has  been  given  to  architectural 
styles,  no  one  style  predominates ;  we  may 
see  a  Moorish  room,  a  Japanese  room,  a 
Louis  Qninze  room,  a  seventeenth-century 
Dutch  room,  and  perhaps  even  a  Gothic 
room,  forming  a  house  to  which  it  would  be 
hard  to  give  a  name.  But  in  almost  all  cases 
the  rooms  are  similar  in  conception,  or,  at 
least,  if  one  or  two  arc  different  they  are  im- 
mediately recognized  as  fanciful  interpola- 
tions in  a  generally  consistent  scheme.  And 
this  scheme  is  based  upon  some  form  of  that 
great  development  of  art  which  we  call  Re- 
naissance. 

The  name  is  a  broad  one.  It  covers  all 
the  work  done  in  all  the  four  centuries  which 
elapsed  between  the  perishing  of  Gothic  art 
and  the  birth  of  the  brief  ueo-Greek  move- 
ment less  than  a  hundred  years  ago ;  and 
during  those  centuries  art  was  very  much 
alive,  and  therefore  developed  and  modified 
itself  persistently.  But,  throughout,  all 

4 


men  worked  together  as  the  cnrrent  ideal 
changed,  and  all  sub-styles  were  united  by 
one  characteristic,  determiuing  thread — the 
use  in  modern,  variously  reorganized,  and 
transmuted  ways  of  motives  drawn  from 
classic  art. 

Our  home  interiors,  with  few  exceptions, 
now  show  our  allegiance  to  Renaissance 
ideals.  But  if  no  more  than  this  could  be 
said  it  would  not  mean  unity  or  even  true 
harmony  in  impulse  and  results.  More  than 
this,  however,  can  be  said.  They  show  our 
allegiance  to  those  earlier,  purer  types  of 
Renaissance  work  which  best  deserve  the 
name,  and,  indeed,  when  we  speak  with 
exactness,  are  the  only  ones  we  call  by  it 
in  contrast  to  such  later  sub-styles  as  the 
"Palladian,"  the  "Louis  Quatorze,"  the 
"  Louis  Quinze,"  the  "  Queen  Anne,"  and  so 
forth. 

But,  you  may  ask,  how  long  will  this 
agreement  last  ?  Does  not  our  brief  archi- 
tectural history  show  that  fashion  in  styles 
is  scarcely  more  permanent  with  us  than 
fashion  iii  clothes  ?  Ten  years  hence  may 
we  not  all  be  agreeing  upon  something  that 
we  do  not  especially  care  for  to-day,  or,  just 
as  likely,  again  agreeing  to  disagree? 

Perhaps  so;  but  I  think  we  may  at  least 


cherish  a,  pretty  strong  doubt.  I  think  a 
promise  that  onr  present  preference  will  en- 
dure may  lie  in  the  fact  that  it  has  been  in- 
stinctively rather  than  self-consciously  de- 
veloped. For  does  not  this  mean  that  we 
have  chosen  as  we  could  not  help  choosing? 
We  have  not  been  impelled  to  build  in  this 
way  by  a  mere  theoretical  consideration  of 
the  abstract  claims  of  different  styles,  or  by 
the  persuasive  words  of  any  critical  writer, 
or  even  by  the  example  of  any  one  con- 
spicuous architect.  While  trying  with  an 
impartial  hand  a  dozen  different  ways  of  de- 
signing, we  have  hit,  almost  without  know- 
ing it,  upon  one  that  really  serves.  We  now 
build  almost  all  our  houses  in  one  fashion, 
not  because  we  fancy  it  may  be  the  best  for 
us,  but  because  in  a  keen  competition  it  has 
actually  proved  the  best. 

It  is  instructive  just  here  to  remember 
that  the  only  architect  who  has  profoundly 
affected  the  American  profession  and  public 
threw  his  influence  against  the  style  which, 
in  domestic  building,  nevertheless  prevails. 
We  prefer  Eenaissauce  houses  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  all  Richardson's  work  had  a  dis- 
tinctly Romanesque  or  Byzantine  character. 
Under  the  immediate  sway  of  his  impressive 
personality  and  his  magnificent  talent,  half 


the  profession  turned  into  his  path  with  as- 
sured or  stumbling  steps;  and  the  public, 
hitherto  uninterested  by  architectural  mat- 
ters, showed  a  surprisingly  strong  interest 
iu  the  new  departure.  Here,  it  seemed  to 
us,  lay  the  mine  which  onr  artists  should 
work  if  an  American  style  was  to  he  horn. 
Here  were  materials  essentially  novel,  un- 
questionably attractive  to  the  majority,  and 
seemingly  plastic  enough  to  be  moulded  with 
the  versatile  touch  that  modern  building 
problems  require.  Could  anything  more 
"original"  he  expected  in  these  latter  days 
of  art  ?  Could  anything  more  pleasing  to 
the  public  eye  be  found ;  or  anything  that 
might  give  a  freer  hand  to  the  inventive- 
ness which  American  architects  have  always 
shown,  and  which,  we  believe,  needs  only  to 
find  the  right  channel  to  show  itself  as  crea- 
tive power?  Thus  many  of  us  thought, 
and  thus,  I  confess,  some  of  us  made  bold  to 
write. 

But  meanwhile,  as  we  were  trying  to  de- 
vote ourselves  to  Romanesque  art,  we  did 
devote  ourselves,  in  the  branch  where  our 
work  is  most  spontaneous,  to  art  of  a  very 
different  kind.  It  is  not  yet  six  years,  re- 
member, since  Richardson  died,  and  only 
sixteen  since  his  influence  began  to  be  felt. 


B3 


We  have  riot  developed  the  seed  he  sowed, 
got  tired  of  its  flower,  and  in  a  spirit  of 
reaction  turned  to  another  seed  -  bed  for 
the  materials  of  another  "fashion."  Wo 
have  simply  strayed  away  while  thinking 
that  our  eyes  were  fixed  upon  him  as  our 
leader.  It  seems  as  though  we  must  have 
confounded  those  underlying  qualities  of  his 
work  which  proved  him  a  great  architect 
with  those  more  superficial  ones  which  ex- 
pressed his  personal  feeling  for  a  certain 
style.  We  thought  he  had  shown  us  the 
virtues  of  the  Romanesque  style  when  what 
ho  had  really  shown  us  was  the  difference 
between  weak,  confused,  commonplace,  triv- 
ial buildings  and  buildings  instinct  with 
vigor,  individuality,  and  beauty.  We  are 
not  likely  to  forget  his  teaching  with  regard 
to  the  essentials  of  good  architecture :  in  a 
greater  degree  than  any  one  can  estimate  it 
has  affected  and  will  affect  the  work  of  the 
whole  profession,  the  appreciative  power  of 
the  whole  public.  Nor  do  I  think  that  even 
as  regards  style  his  influence  will  be  entirely 
outlived.  There  is  a  much  closer  kinship 
between  early  Renaissance  work  and  early 
mediaeval  work  than  between  the  former 
and  Gothic  work.  The  Renaissance  styles 
followed  immediately  upon  the  Gothic,  but 


they  were  uot  based  upon  them.  They 
were  based  upon  a  study  of  classic  architect- 
ure, and  so  of  course  was  early  mediaeval 
work.  In  calling  our  attention  so  strongly 
to  Byzautiue  and  southern  Romanesque 
buildings,  it  seems  as  though  Richardson 
may  have  unlocked  a  forgotten  treasure- 
house  wherein  the  designers  of  future  days 
will  find  inspirations  and  lessons  which  will 
enable  them  to  make  of  modern  Renaissance 
art  something  fresher,  more  individual,  and 
more  plastic  than  they  would  have  produced 
had  this  great  architect  never  lived.  If 
they  remember  merely  how  he  showed  that 
ornamentation  may  be  executed  in  intaglio 
as  well  as  in  relief,  and  that  strong  effects 
of  contrasted  color  are  admirably  suited  to 
our  bright  sunshine  and  clear  atmosphere, 
his  choice  of  style  will  have  had  a  conspic- 
uous influence  upon  American  art.  But 
even  the  current  work  of  Richardson's 
own  pupils  shows  that  we  can  hardly  ex- 
pect, as  we  did  a  dozen  years  ago,  that  Ro- 
manesque art  will  eventually  rule  in  the 
laud.  Some  of  them  certainly  follow  in 
his  path  with  hearty  enthusiasm.  But 
very  far  away  from  it  have  travelled  oth- 
ers, designing,  for  example,  the  new  Public 
Library  in  Boston,  the  Madison  Square 


Garden,  and  the  Judge  Buildiug  in  New 
York. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  inquire  a  little 
into  the  nature  of  Renaissance  art  as  re- 
vealed by  history  and  by  current  practice, 
and  to  explain  some  of  the  reasons  why  it 
has  proved  itself  the  best  for  our  domestic 
use  at  least.  But  just  now  I  can  only  ask  a 
final  question,  leaving  it  unanswered  as  one 
which  deserves  to  be  thought  about,  but  can 
be  authoritatively  settled  by  Time  alone : 

If,  almost  unconsciously,  we  are  coming  to 
agree  upon  a  style  for  our  domestic  work, 
and  if  in  our  domestic  work  we  most  clearly 
and  truthfully  express  ourselves,  should 
we  adopt  this  style  in  all  other  departments 
of  architecture  ?  Are  we  taught  by  a  study 
of  our  homes  that  Renaissance  art  is  the 
true  art  for  modern  men  in  America  as  well 
as  in  France,  and  that  upon  it  will  be  based 
our  "American  architecture  "if  future  con- 
ditions and  native  abilities  ever  combine  to 
develop  such  a  product  f 


SOME  WORK  OF  THE  "ASSOCIATED 
ARTISTS." 

BY  MRS.  BURTON  HARRISON. 

THE  wave  of  popular  decorative  art  has 
broken  over  us  ami  receded.  With  it  have 
gone  the  sticks  aud  straws  of  iucompe- 
tency.  Away  floats  many  a  fond  illusion 
of  whilom  artists,  who  have  reluctantly  lived 
to  see  their  blurred  ideals  piled  high  ou 
the  cupboard  shelf,  or  bestowed  upon  the 
married  maid-servant  intending  house-keep- 
ing. Torn  from  the  pedestal  where  so  long 
it  stood  upon  one  weary  leg,  the  immemo- 
rial stork  has  gone  down  the  stream  in  com- 
pany with  sunflowers  aud  apple- blossoms  in 
every  stage  of  experimental  presentment. 

In  plain  words,  the  decorative  "  craze " 
has  had  its  day.  Amateurs  no  longer  creep 
in  where  artists  dare  not  tread.  The  legit- 
imate adorners  of  our  homes  breathe  a  long 
sigh  of  relief.  The  field  is  theirs.  What 
happily  remain  with  us  of  the  stimulating 
period  just  past  are  a  more  enlightened 


taste  in  all  these  matters  and.  a  more  impar- 
tial understanding  of  aesthetic  la\v.  Stripped 
though  they  are  of  home-made  faience  aud 
pre-Raphaelite  crewel-work,  our  houses  bear 
internal  evidence  of  a  hundred  decorative 
fancies,  well  imagined  and  fitly  applied. 
To  know  ho\v  to  adjust  the  things  we  have 
is  of  far  greater  value  than  to  know 
how  to  yearn  for  those  we  have  not.  This 
naturally  applies  to  those  who  have  fol- 
lowed, as  a  fashion,  what  they  style  "  dec- 
orative art."  To  the  earnest  workers,  es- 
pecially among  women,  what  a  hoon  has  it 
not  been  ?  Of  the  various  schools  established 
in  New  York,  beginning  with  the  noble 
Society  of  Decorative  Art,  all  have  been  suc- 
cessfully and  honorably  maintained,  while 
to  reckon  up  the  benefits  they  have  con- 
ferred upon  the  self-helpers  of  our  country 
at  large  would  •  be  a  task  of  magnitude. 
The  roots  of  every  one  of  these  large  estab- 
lishments where  the  decorations  of  life  are 
considered  to  the  exclusion  of  Us  necessa- 
ries, strike  deep  aud  far  into  the  soil  fed  by 
our  national  industries. 

A  few  years  ago  a  little  baud  of  artists  of 
New  York,  headed  by  Mr.  Louis  C.  Tiffany, 
determined  to  inaugurate  a  new  era  in  liou.se 
decoration,  where  each  member  of  the  ad- 


visory  firm  should  be  a  specialist  of  skill  and 
ripe  culture.  This  was  done ;  and  the  re- 
sults they  have  brought  about  may,  with- 
out exaggeration,  be  called  the  first  -  fruits 
of  the  American  Renaissance.  Very  little 
was  attempted  by  the  association  to  secure 
the  attention  of  the  public  that  througs  and 
wonders.  Their  work,  principally  executed 
to  beautify  certain  elaborate  interiors,  has 
been  hurried  by  the  owners  from  work-room 
or  atelier  into  jealous  seclusion  as  soon  as  it 
was  finished.  The  curtain  for  the  Madison 
Square  Theatre,  decorations  for  the  beauti- 
ful interior  of  the  Church  of  the  Divine  Pa- 
ternity, for  the  Union  Club  House,  and  for 
the  picturesque  Veterans'  Kooin  of  the  Sev- 
enth Regiment  Armory,  were  almost  the 
only  exhibits  of  their  industry  known  to 
New  York  until  the  exhibition  of  embroid- 
eries in  the  Loan  Collection  of  December, 
1883,  held  in  aid  of  the  Pedestal  Fund  for 
Bartholdi's  Statue  of  Liberty.  Then  was 
displayed  a  series  of  bold  and  original  nee- 
dle-woven tapestries,  before  which  the  art- 
ist world  paused  to  do  homage,  as  the  most 
decided  advance  in  needle-work  known  to 
the  century.  Of  this  tapestry  a  full  de- 
scription will  be  given  further  on.  Since 
the  earlier  work  mentioned  the  artists  have 


59 


been  enabled,  by  repeated  efforts  in  com- 
binations, through  advanced  skill  on  the 
part  of  their  work-people,  and  with  success- 
ful development  of  native  industries,  to 
show  continual  progress  in  all  these  depart- 
ments. In  their  hands  wood,  metals,  glass^ 
mother-of-pearl,  gold  and  silver,  canvas, 
silk,  serge,  "cloth  o'  gold  and  cloth  o' 
frieze,"  dyes  and  pigments,  threads  of  silk 
and  gold  and  wool,  have  been  alternately 
treated  to  the  action  of  tool,  brush,  or  nee- 
dle, and  dismissed  bearing  unmistakable 
evidence  of  their  artistic  birthplace. 

In  this  development  of  combined  indus- 
tries it  was  soon  found  that  the  department 
of  tapestries  and  embroideries  had  assumed 
a  character  of  distinct  national  and  com- 
mercial importance,  requiring  for  develop- 
ment certain  conditions  materially  hin- 
dered by  an  association  for  the  production 
only  of  combined  forms  of  decorative  work. 
After  three  years  of  co-operative  study  and 
fruitful  experiment  it  was  decided,  there- 
fore, to  detach  this  department  of  artistic 
needle-work,  allowing  it  to  convene  a  new 
group  of  artists  having  taste  and  gifts  es- 
pecially adapted  to  its  growth.  The  orig- 
inal scheme  of  the  enterprise  was  continued 
under  the  name  of  Louis  C.  Tiffany  &  Co., 


its  offshoot  retaining  the  impersonal  title  of 
Associated  Artists,  as  better  suited  to  the 
requirement  of  an  enterprise  nuder  feminine 
control.  Of  these  artists  themselves  it  is 
permitted  me  to  say  little.  That  the  asso- 
ciation is  directed  and  inspired  by  Mrs. 
Wheeler,  Miss  Dora  Wheeler,  and  Miss  Ro- 
sina  Emmet,  is  to  Americans  an  earnest  of 
the  results  attainable,  as  well  as  an  explana- 
tion of  those  attained.  And  it  is  pleasant 
to  record  here  a  tribute  to  the  progressive 
excellence  of  the  designs  furnished  by  Miss 
Ida  Clark,  formerly  a  pupil,  and  now  an  ac- 
tive worker  in  the  councils  of  the  Associated 
Artists. 

It  is  in  the  blending  of  art  and  manu- 
facturing industry  that  we  Americans  are 
vitally  interested,  and  we  shall  now  see  how 
far  into  this  fresh  field  the  footsteps  of  a 
few  brave  women  have  led  the  way.  One 
who  is  fortunate  enough  to  possess  an  open- 
sesame  to  the  modest  dark  green  portal  in 
East  Twenty-third  Street  behind  which  the 
Associated  Artists  conjure  into  existence  so 
many  marvels  will  at  the  outset  be  forcibly 
struck  by  the  fact  of  the  growth  in  Ameri- 
can taste  making  such  an  establishment 
not  only  possible,  but  remunerative.  Here, 
under  Mrs  Wheeler's  inspiring  rule,  are  pro- 


dnced  the  beautiful  pieces  of  embroidery  of 
which  this  paper  designs  to  treat.  To  de- 
scribe the  furniture,  iulay-work,  ceilings, 
wall-papers,  panellings,  parquetry  floors,  and 
glass  mosaics  originating  in  the  fertile  brain 
of  Mr.  Tiffany  and  his  coadjutors  in  the  ate- 
liers of  Fourth  Avenue  close  by  would  be  a 
chapter  apart. 

Now  that  the  reign  of  stuffs  has  asserted 
itself  in  our  homes — when  we  sigh  before  a 
yard  of  imperial  yellow  damask,  and  caress 
a  bit  of  plush  as  a  lover  might  the  cheek  of 
his  fair  one,  singing  them  over  like  honest 
Autolycus  with  his  inkles,  caddisses,  cam- 
brics, lawns,  "  as  they  were  gods  or  goddess- 
es"— it  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  the  unsym- 
pathizing  to  hear  the  practical  side  of  this 
enthusiasm. 

Eeinemberiug  the  gallant  struggle  made, 
during  the  last  twenty  years  especially,  by 
the  silk  weavers  of  the  United  States,  who 
have  tried  in  the  face  of  so  many  obstacles 
to  obtain  for  their  products  footing  with 
imported  goods,  it  is  pleasant  to  record  to 
their  honor  an  unqualified  success.  One  of 
the  first  problems  the  Associated  Artists  set 
themselves  to  encounter  was  how  to  lighten 
the  cost  and  extend  the  variety  of  silk  and 
woollen  stuffs.  American  women  have,  as  a 


62 


rule,  withheld  their  patronage  from  Ameri- 
can silks;  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  any 
cue  examining  the  recent  products  of  Con- 
necticut and  New  Jersey  looms,  woven  to 
the  order  of  the  Associated  Artists,  after  de- 
signs furnished  by  them,  will  go  away  re- 
penting past  omissions,  and  zealous  of  fut- 
ure purchase.  These  fabrics  include  filmy 
"India"  silks,  silk  sail-cloths  of  great  lus- 
tre and  durability,  silk  canvases,  and  dam- 
asks like  those  in  which  Paul  Veronese 
clothed  his  golden  blondes. 

For  hangings  of  all  kinds,  and  for  "pict- 
ure "  dresses,  these  materials  are  not  to  be 
surpassed.  The  designs,  where  a  pattern  is 
employed,  are  admirable,  and  the  tints  sup- 
plied range  from  silver-white  to  amber,  gold, 
and  orange,  from  blush-pink  to  copper  and 
pomegranate,  with  many  greens  and  blues, 
in  some  cases  intermingled,  as  in  the  goxvn 
bestowed  on  Enid  by  Earl  Doorm, 


"Where,  like  a  shoaling  sea,  the  lovely  blue 
Played  into  green." 


Not  satisfied,  however,  with  producing 
stuffs  to  exchange  for  the  plentiful  shekels 
of  American  plutocracy,  the  artists  have 
wisely  carried  their  experiments  into  the  re- 


gion  of  cheap  materials.  One  result  is  a 
fabric  of  raw  silk,  serving  to  utilize  the 
waste  of  costlier  webs,  and  dyed  in  the 
skein,  in  varied  tints  of  the  same  color,  giv- 
ing it  when  woven  all  the  effect  of  the  East- 
ern hand-dyed,  hand-woven  stnffs  so  much 
admired.  This  is  sold  at  a  very  moderate 
price.  Chintzes  and  cottons  receive  as  much 
care  in  the  design  as  their  expensive  bro- 
cades, and  Kentucky  jean  or  denim  has  been 
known  to  take  upon  itself  the  semblance  of 
Oriental  drapery  for  wall  or  door.  A  sort 
of  dado  of  this  homely  dark  blue  stuff  (so 
familiar  to  the  eyes  of  Southern  or  of  West- 
ern people  in  the  common  garments  of  their 
negro  population)  has  been  decorated  with 
interlaced  rings  of  chestnut  plush,  a  space 
on  the  wall  above  covered  with  blue  and 
white  striped  awning  stuff,  and  the  frieze 
painted  in  reds  and  pinks  above.  Always 
design  is  studied  with  reference  to  use.  A 
woven  stuff  designed  by  Miss  Ida  Clark  for 
the  hangings  of  a  palace  car  has  for  its  pat- 
tern a  peal  of  bells,  scattered  as  if  driven  by 
the  wind,  with  a  border  of  coupled  car 
wheels,  and  drifting  smoke  between. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  aesthetic 
honse-keeper  ambitious  to  adorn  her  room 
of  state,  the  modest  mother  of  a  household 


who  can  spare  this  much  and  no  more  for 
a  thing  of  beauty  in  her  home,  and  the  em- 
broiderer seeking  fresh  fields  for  the  vaga- 
ries of  her  needle,  need  no  more  look  to 
sources  over  the  sea  for  their  material. 

Embroidery  silk,  to  take  the  place  of  fil- 
oselle, is  another  industry  of  this  busy  hive. 
Brilliant  as  floss,  it  is  expected  that  in  time 
this  silk  will  cost  less  than  imported  filo- 
selle. 

To  properly  classify  the  methods  of  em- 
broidery used  by  the  Associated  Artists,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  placing  at  the  head  of 
the  list  a  needle-woven  tapestry  illustrating 
a  distinctly  new  departure  in  decorative 
needle-work,  which  will  probably  take  the 
name  of  the  originator,  and  be  known  to 
collectors  of  the  future  as  the  Wheeler  tap- 
estry. A  brief  history  ot  this  work,  secured 
to  Mrs.  Wheeler  by  letters  patent  both  in 
America  and  England,  may  prove  of  interest 
to  my  readers. 

For  some  years  past  Mrs.  Wheeler  has 
been  experimenting  in  varieties  of  stitches 
applied  to  varieties  in  material,  while  aim- 
ing to  produce  an  embroidered  surface  which 
should  possess  all  the  softness  of  painting 
in  water-colors,  yet  have  the  enduring  qual- 
ity of  ancient  hand-wrought  tapestries.  To 


find  a  suitable  grouud  for  such  work  proved 
her  maiu  difficulty,  and  it  was  ouly  while 
standing  by  the  Jacquard  loom  one  day 
watching  the  progress  of  a  bit  of  silk- weav- 
ing to  her  order,  that  she  observed  one  por- 
tion of  the  design  suggesting  the  very  ar- 
rangement of  threads  so  loug  desired.  A 
discarded  remnant  of  imperfect  texture  was 
found  having  the  idea  still  better  carried 
out  for  her  purpose.  This  was  made  to 
serve  as  a  model  for  the  new  silk  canvas, 
which  was  promptly  put  under  way. 

The  result  is  a  stuff  woven  of  three  shades 
of  color  (as,  for  instance,  in  the  olive  can- 
vas, black,  light  green,  and  dark  green), 
having  a  raw  silk  back,  with  silk  warp  and 
face.  It  resembles,  in  effect,  "  laid- work," 
or  "  couching,"  as  seen  in  the  grounds  of  so 
many  old  embroideries,  as  well  as  that  vari- 
ety of  decoration  recently  revived  under  the 
name  of  "  Queen  Anne's  darned-work."  Next 
followed  a  series  of  experiments  in  stitches 
to  preserve  the  elasticity  of  the  textile, 
while  allowing  the  introduction  of  addition- 
al warp-threads  without  changing  the  plane 
of  the  surface. 

The  method  of  working  this  tapestry 
finally  adopted  may  be  best  understood  by 
calling  to  mind  the  much-neglected  domes- 

5 


06 


tic  art  of  stocking  darning,  which,  iu  these 
days  of  machine  -  made  hosiery,  has  been 
tossed  into  the  waste-basket  of  oblivion. 
This  homely  stitch  is  still  seen  in  some  Turk- 
ish embroideries,  and  was  once  made  famous 
by  old  Flemish  workers,  as  well  as  by  those 
of  Italy  and  Germany.  In  the  Wheeler  tap- 
estry the  darned  threads  are  carried  across 
either  the  woof  or  warp  of  the  ground,  ac- 
cording to  the  desired  effect  of  texture,  and 
are  not  crossed  by  a  returning  thread,  as  in 
ordinary  basket  darning.  When  finished  it 
is  difficult  even  for  a  practiced  eye  to  dis- 
cern how  they  have  apparently  become  in- 
corporated with  the  stuff.  The  impression 
gained  is  that  of  a  vignette,  where  the  at- 
mosphere fades  into  the  ground  tint  of  the 
stuff.  In  many  cases  the  last  range  of  stitches 
is  supplied  by  using  the  ravelled  silk  of  the 
original  material. 

The  general  effect  of  color  aimed  at  in 
these  needle-work  pictures  is  flat,  but  the 
artist  who  continually  oversees  them  while 
under  the  worker's  hand  cannot  resist  a  sug- 
gestion of  light  or  shadow  here  and  there,  a 
deepening  of  tone  in  the  hollow  of  a  plait  or 
fold,  a  loving  touch  of  the  brush,  as  it  were, 
supplying  the  gradations  of  tint  that  trans- 
form a  lifeless  surface  of  needle-work  into  a 


f>7 


spirited  portrayal,  as  by  pigments,  of  some 
form  of  natural  beauty.  What  will  no  doubt 
recommend  it  to  the  artistic  amateur  is  that 
there  are  no  fixed  rules  for  the  stitches  to  be 
taken.  Wherever,  by  changing  the  direction 
of  them,  a  good  effect  can  be  rendered,  it  is 
done  unhesitatingly.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
experienced  workers  will  see  how  impossi- 
ble would  be  the  undertaking  of  such,  a 
labor  as  one  of  these  tapestries  without  con- 
stant supervision  from  the  eye  of  a  trained 
artist. 

After  the  design  is  sketched  upon  the  can- 
vas, a  strong  outline  in  silks  is  supplied,  un- 
like that  made  with  the  brush  in  china- 
painting  in  that  it  precedes  instead  of  finish- 
ing the  work.  The  worker  is  supplied  with 
a  carefully  colored  sketch  of  the  subject,  and 
some  idea  of  the  labor  necessary  to  complete 
a  piece  of  this  tapestry  may  be  gained  from 
the  fact  that  the  "  atmosphere  "  alone,  sur- 
rounding a  breezy  nymph  now  being  clothed 
with  substance  upou  the  frame,  will  require 
to  perfect  it  fully  four  mouths'  time  of  a 
steady  work-woman. 

The  most  conspicuous  achievement  in 
hand-wrought  tapestry  yet  sent  out  by  the 
Associated  Artists,  and  certainly  the  most 
important  order  in  needle -work  ever  exe- 


cuted  in  this  country,  is  the  Vanderbilt  set 
of  wall-hangings  already  alluded  to  as  hav- 
ing excited  favorable  notice  in  the  recent 
Loan  Collection  at  the  Academy  of  Design. 
These  tapestries,  eleven  in  number,  were  ex- 
ecuted after  designs  from  Miss  Dora  Wheeler, 
representing  phases  of  life  in  its  holiday  as- 
pect. They  include  groups  of  dancing  fig- 
ures; an  Undine  seated  beneath  the  curve 
of  a  wave  holding  a  shell,  from  which  drop 
garnered  pearls;  her  comrade,  a  creature  of 
the  air,  summoning  birds,  which  come  swift- 
ly at  her  call ;  nymphs  with  musical  instru- 
ments ;  amorini  swinging  upon  ropes  of  roses, 
or  playing  at  hide-and-seek  amid  flowers; 
together  with  a  design  full  of  poetic  beauty, 
entitled  "  The  Birth  of  Psyche." 

To  supplement  these  tapestries  are  por- 
tieres and  window  curtains  of  a  pale  green- 
ish-white satin,  with  underlet  appliqu6s  of 
other  pale-hued  silks,  conveying  to  the  sur- 
face a  peculiar  opaline  effect.  Over  this  is 
embroidered  a  prodigal  variety  of  roses 
dropping  from  the  stems  in  their  plenitude 
of  bloom  and  color.  Most  of  these  roses  are 
drawn  from  sketches  made  while  on  a  win- 
ter journey  in  the  South,  and  are  pleasant 
chronicles  of  life  in  the  bowery  haunts  of 
the  Carolinas  and  of  Florida.  The  work 


bestowed  oil  them  is  no  artistic  sleight-of- 
hand,  where  the  needle  flies,  Atlanta -like, 
across  the  plain,  but  is  the  perfection  of 
close  embroidery,  the  old  opus  plumarium,  or 
feather-stitch,  resembliug  the  overlapping 
plumage  of  a  bird. 

This  brilliant  use  of  roses  in  their  natural 
shape  and  color  naturally  suggests  the  much 
discussed  question  of  con  ventioualizing  flow- 
er forms  for  the  purposes  of  ornamental  de- 
sign. In  the  practice  of  this  association  a 
plant  rarely  has  to  be  twisted  or  perverted 
from  the  lines  of  beauty  conferred  on  it  by 
nature.  When  it  is  desired  to  decorate  a 
given  surface,  the  flower  or  plant  chosen  is 
found  to  be  one  entirely  iu  harmony  with 
its  surroundiugs.  It  is  placed  finally  only 
after  consideration  of  it  in  all  its  relations 
to  texture,  color,  and  ultimate  purpose. 

The  same  nice  care  follows  the  piece  of 
embroidery  to  its  destination  in  the  home. 
And  in  this  connection  I  may  quote  some 
recent  sayings  of  a  distinguished  art  critic 
regarding  the  achievements  of  the  associa- 
tion :  "  Their  exhibition  has  a  distinct  im- 
portance in  the  development  of  decorative 
art,  which,  if  we  ever  have  it  fitly  applied 
to  our  domestic  arrangements,  must  be  in- 
digenous. The  conditions  of  life  and  light, 


70 


manner  of  living  and  Lousing  ourselves, 
differ  so  widely  from  the  corresponding  con- 
ditions in  any  other  country  that  they  can 
never  be  adequately  met  except  by  a  deco- 
ration which  grows  up  to  them  and  fits 
them.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  what 
suits  perfectly  the  gray  and  lightless  sky 
of  England,  and  the  comparative  gloom  of 
its  in -doors,  or  the  system  of  furnishing 
which  accords  properly  with  French  social 
and  domestic  surroundings,  will  jar  with 
ours.  When  the  American  decorator  finds 
his  tone  and  style,  and  the  women  of  our 
cultivated  society  learn  that  what  is  'kill- 
ing '  on  the  boulevards  is  garish  on  Broad- 
way, we  shall  have  made  the  first  step  in  an 
escape  from  artistic  provincialism.  The 
Associated  Artists  are  helping  us  to  this 
much-to-be-desired  end." 

Apart  from  the  now  famous  tapestries  em- 
broidered for  Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  the 
Associated  Artists  have  completed  several 
other  important  examples  of  the  Wheeler 
tapestry.  A  set  of  wall  panels  and  window 
curtains  wrought  iu  opalescent  tints  for  a 
London  drawing-room  were  lately  shown, 
before  being  packed  for  shipment,  to  a  few 
appreciative  friends.  A  large  hanging,  ar- 
ranged from  Le  Roux's  painting  of  the  "Are- 


71 


na  "  by  Miss  Ida  Clark,  was  exhibited  at  the 
Loan  Collection ;  and  there  is  now  iu  proc- 
ess of  completion  at  the  rooms  a  charming 
curtain,  designed  by  Miss  Rosin  a  Emmet, 
having  for  subject  the  figure  of  Ruth  carry- 
ing a  sheaf  of  wheat  beneath  her  arm.  The 
color  of  the  drapery  in  this  example  is  ex- 
tremely subtle,  and  the  hand  is  tempted  to 
pass  caressingly  over  its  graceful  folds  be- 
fore doubting  Thomas  can  be  made  fairly  to 
believe  that  needle,  not  brush,  has  brought 
to  pass  this  wonder.  Another  delightful 
example  is  a  study  by  Miss  Dora  Wheeler  of 
a  nymph  and  Cupid  at  a  fountain,  charming 
alike  in  design  and  color. 

In  the  department  of  applique"  embroid- 
ery the  Associated  Artists  have  originated 
many  interesting  pieces  of  work.  One  of 
their  earliest  efforts  was  a  portiere  for  the 
Veterans'  Room  of  the  Seventh  Regiment 
Armory,  made  of  dull  Japanese  brocade, 
bordered  with  plush  representing  leopard- 
skin.  Upon  the  main  space  of  the  curtain 
are  worked  square  applique's  of  velvet,  each 
one  embodying  some  design  suggesting  the 
days  of  knighthood  and  romantic  warfare. 
The  intermediate  spaces  of  the  brocade  are 
covered  with  overlapping  rings  of  steel,  to 
represent  a  coat  of  mail. 


For  the  solace  of  those  pathetic  wander- 
ers from  home  compelled  to  seek  the  shelter 
of  a  club-house,  the  artists  have  iu vented 
more  thau  one  noteworthy  piece  of  decora- 
tive embroidery.  Among  those  at  the  Union 
League  is  a  large  curtain  for  the  library 
window.  This  is  made  of  cloth  of  gold,  and 
is  framed  in  massive  plush.  Upon  the  cen- 
tral panel  is  embroidered  a*  net,  iu  whose 
meshes  are  entangled  fish  with  jewelled 
scales.  At  intervals  the  stuff  is  cut  from 
beneath  the  fish,  leaving,  when  the  curtain 
hangs  against  the  light,  the  effect  of  an  il- 
luminated transparency. 

A  favorite  bit  of  embroidery  is  known  as 
"  The  Sermon."  On  a  curtain  of  ordinary 
brown  holland  appear  appliqu6  disks  con- 
taining groups  of  field  flowers,  bees,  or  but- 
terflies, with  connecting  traceries  of  silk 
thread.  It  was  devised  as  a  reminder  no 
less  than  a  proof  of  the  fact  that  true  art  in 
needle -work  depends  not  upon  stuffs  and 
mere  externals,  but  upon  the  worker's  ar- 
tistic intuition.  This  delicate  admonition  is 
euforced  by  the  materials  employed  to  pro- 
duce this  pleasing  result  in  decoration,  none 
of  them  soaring  beyond  the  ranks  of  ordi- 
nary use,  or  exceeding  the  possibilities  of 
the  humblest  worker. 


T3 


Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  although  ap- 
plique'-work  iu  the  origiual  form  is  classed 
among  the  antiquities  of  needle  lore,  the 
Associated  Artists  have  contrived  to  throw 
around  it  a  mantle  of  originality.  In  every 
case  their  aim  has  been  so  to  bring  together 
differing  shades  and  differing  textures  that 
the  result  might  be  a  scale  of  color  other- 
wise unattainable.  Even  the  same  tones  of 
the  same  color  have  been  made  to  produce  a 
difference  in  tint  through  the  combination 
of  varying  textures. 

And  so,  in  other  branches  of  needle-work, 
the  artists  have  continually  striven  to  make 
the  development  of  color  schemes  depend- 
ing upon  the  inspiration  of  the  worker  a 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  their  pro- 
ductions. 

An  attractive  corner  in  the  rooms  of  the 
association  is  that  occupied  by  the  ancient 
dower-chests,  now  made  to  serve  for  storing 
hoards  of  thin  stuffs  used  for  lighter  dra- 
peries. 

These  diaphanous  materials  seem  pecul- 
iarly in  harmony  with  poetical  designs  for 
outline  tracery,  and  are  intended  to  be  hung 
against  the  light,  upon  the  glass  of  vestibule 
door  or  drawiug-room  window. 


WALL-PAPERS,  CEILINGS,  AND  DADOS. 

BY   SUSAN  N.   CARTER. 

ONE  of  the  best  analyses  of  Art-principles 
that  has  been  published  for  many  years  on 
ornament,  by  Charles  Blanc,  dwells  on  the 
few  simple  underlying  ideas  which  apply  to 
all  decoration.  The  author  says,  in  the  open- 
ing chapter  of  his  work,  that  "just  as  the 
twenty-six  letters  of  the  alphabet  have  been 
and  will  be  sufficient  to  form  the  words 
necessary  for  the  expression  of  all  human 
thought,  so  certain  elements,  susceptible  of 
combination  among  themselves,  have  suf- 
ficed and  will  suffice  to  create  ornaments, 
the  variety  of  which  may  be  multiplied  in- 
definitely." In  fact,  all  the  methods  which 
have  been  devised  for  the  decoration  of  the 
person,  the  house,  or  gardens,  or  public 
buildings,  owe  their  existence  to  the  five 
principles  of  "Repetition,  Alternation,  Sym- 
metry, Progression,  and  Confusion." 

The  truth  of  this  analysis  by  the  French 


75 


artist-philosopher  will  be  recognized  when 
we  consider  two  or  three  of  the  illustrations 
he  gives  to  show  his  meaning.  He  says:  "Any 
form,  however  insignificant  in  itself,  becomes 
interesting  by  repetition  :  at  first,  because 
the  artist  by  repeating  it  forces  us  to  take 
notice  of  it,  and  reveals  an  intention  which 
would  have  escaped  our  observation  without 
this  repetition  ;  and,  next,  because  number 
often  suggests  thoughts  which  unity  would 
not  have  originated." 

"Alternation  "  affects  the  mind  like  a  more 
complicated  repetition  ;  and  "  if  a  circle  be 
placed  after  a  square,  and  this  is  repeated  a 
certain  number  of  times,  the  effect  upon  the 
mind  much  resembles  the  progression  of  the 
figures  in  the  Greek  fret,  or  the  successive 
curves  of  the  Vitruvian  scroll." 

Symmetry  and  Progression  are  modifica- 
tions of  the  two  preceding  principles,  while 
Confusion  becomes  orderly  by  contrast  with 
set  figures,  as  when  groups  of  people  in  va- 
ried attitudes  are  alternated  with  rows  of 
pillars.  Charles  Blanc  most  imaginatively 
remarks  that  "  the  dull  square,  the  hard  and 
frigid  cube,  become  ornamental  when  set  in 
a  row."  While  in  music  the  same  principle 
appears  in  the  "rhythm,  that  is  to  say,  the 
repetition,  accelerated  or  diminished,  of  a 


sound  with  vibration  or  without.  The  toll- 
ing of  a  bell,  sounding  for  a  long  time  the 
same  note  at  equal  intervals,  may  produce 
a  profound  and  solemn  impression ;"  and 
"  when  we  survey  the  ancient  monnmeiits 
of  Egypt,  abounding  as  they  do  in  colored 
reliefs  or  surface-paintings,  we  are  often  ar- 
rested by  a  group  of  figures  in  simultaneous 
and  rhythmical  action,  all  executing  the 
same  gesture  and  the  same  sign.  When  this 
action  is  not  purely  material,  such  as  lead- 
ing animals,  threshing  out  corn,  or  carrying 
bricks  ;  that  is,  when  it  is  in  harmony  with 
tbe  sentiment,  and  expresses,  for  example, 
worship  or  prayer — this  rhythmic  movement 
partakes  of  a  religious  character,  and  the 
repetition  of  the  gesture  seems  to  bring  it 
within  the  pale  of  sacred  rites.  The  spec- 
tacle becomes  solemn,  nay,  almost  sub- 
lime." 

As  these  principles,  when  we  reflect  upon 
them,  appear  so  simple  and  at  the  same  time 
so  full  of  meaning,  we  can  easily  see  how  in 
the  ornament  of  a  dress  a  row  of  daisies  con- 
stantly repeated  gives  its  own  character  to 
the  garment,  while  little  triangles  on  a  wall- 
paper have  their  character  of  repose,  and, 
in  the  more  ambitious  work  of  the  land- 
scape-gardener, long  rows  of  trees,  forming 


vistas  in  park  or  avenue,  have  their  dis- 
tinctive artistic  meaning. 

Taking  np  these  simple  ideas  as  applying 
to  the  adornment  of  life,  we  shall  dwell  on 
them  in  articles  on  the  decoration  of  our 
rooms,  the  ornaments,  whether  in  embroid- 
ery, or  carving,  or  jewels  for  our  persons, 
and  shall  endeavor  to  show  how  pleasant 
harmonies  may  be  obtained  both  through 
form  and  color  in  the  familiar  objects  which 
make  up  onr  daily  external  life. 

Second  to  the  adornment  of  onr  own  per- 
sons, the  background  or  foundation  of  the 
rooms  which  wo  inhabit  is  of  great  interest 
to  us.  Our  circumstances  determine  if  these 
backgrounds,  which  resolve  themselves  final- 
ly into  wall-papers,  shall  be  pleasant  nega- 
tive settings  to  the  objects  with  which  we 
fill  our  homes,  or  if  the  mural  decorations 
shall  themselves  supply  the  lack  of  objects 
which  our  taste  or  our  purse  may  have  hin- 
dered us  from  collecting.  It  is  of  wall-pa- 
pers as  furnishing  a  background  and  relief 
to  an  assemblage  of  loved  and  familiar  ob- 
jects that  we  propose  to  treat  in  this  paper. 

Like  all  transient  fashions  of  dress  or  or- 
nament, where  the  material  is  comparative- 
ly cheap,  nothing  changes  its  patterns  or  its 
colors  more  constantly  than  wall-paper. 


78 


The  frescos  which  adorned  the  old  saloons 
in  foreign  palaces  were  often  painted  by 
distinguished  artists,  and  the  pictures  and 
arabesques  on  ceiling  and  side  -  wall  were 
also  frequently  done  under  their  supervision. 
The  rarity  and  costliness  of  these  decora- 
tions insured  their  permanence,  and  we  still 
see  the  same  angels,  cherubs,  and  historical 
paintings,  in  Italy  and  Germany,  that  gener- 
ations have  looked  at  for  the  last  four  or  five 
hundred  years. 

But  in  the  ordinary  dwelling  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  especially  in  this  country,  each 
new  occupant  of  a  house  feels  himself  at 
liberty  to  choose  the  style  of  his  wall-adorn- 
ment, and  the  small  expense  attending  it 
enables  him  to  suit  his  own  taste.  We  pre- 
sume that  nearly  every  one  of  our  readers 
has  noticed  the  change  of  impression  made 
upon  himself  by  the  rearrangement  or  the 
addition  or  removal  of  furuiture,  pictures, 
or  wall-paper,  in  an  apartment  with  which 
he  has  been  familiar.  A  dim,  cosey  sitting- 
room,  full  of  odds  and  ends  of  prints,  tables, 
easy-chairs,  and  bric-a-brac,  needs  but  the 
different  ideas  of  a  new  occupant  to  be 
transformed  into  a  stiff,  light,  clean  parlor ; 
yet,  the  entire  variation  consists  only  in  the 
substitution  of  a  dove-colored  paper,  with- 


79 


out  tone  or  richness  of  color,  .and  hung  at 
set  intervals  with  steel  engravings  or  ordi- 
nary photographs,  for  a  brown,  mellow- 
tiuted  wall,  on  which  interesting  etchings 
have  previously  been  grouped.  In  the  analy- 
sis, we  find  one  room  not  more  costly,  more 
elegant,  or  more  rare,  than  the  other,  but 
yet  they  are  as  distinct  in  the  impression 
they  make  as  two  different  individualities. 

Nothing,  iu  our  familiar  experience,  ex- 
cites homesickness  more  keenly  than  the 
dismantling  of  a  room  where  our  life  is  for 
the  most  part  spent.  An  ordinary  house- 
cleaning,  which  removes  our  paintings,  book- 
cases, and  hanging-shelves  from  the  walls, 
produces  a  sense  of  loneliness  that  nothing 
but  their  gradual  restoration  after  the  clean- 
ing is  over  can  entirely  efface ;  and  we  then 
sigh  with  pleasure  when  the  space  over  the 
mantel-piece  resumes  its  accustomed  expres- 
sion, and  as  one  by  one  the  books  are  on 
their  shelves,  and  our  old  spot  is  itself 
again. 

Wall-papers  have  a  share  in  the  comfort 
and  pleasure  of  our  daily  life  that  pictures 
or  ornaments  scarcely  can  equal.  We  may 
dispense  with  the  favorite  painting,  but  the 
harmony  or  disagreeable  tints  and  figures  on 
the  wall-paper  are  not  to  be  evaded.  They 


so 


either  possess  the  richness  and  repose  that 
fit  them  for  a  background  to  furniture,  mir- 
rors, or  paintings,  or  their  glaring,  patchy 
colors  kill  the  effect  of  the  best  pictures, 
and  to  many  a  nervous  invalid  render  his 
hours  intolerable,  as  he  counts  and  combines 
over  and  over  again  the  meaningless  recur- 
rence of  a  marked  angle  or  curve,  or  the 
ever-repeated  big,  awkward  rose  or  tiresome 
convolvulus. 

A  few  years  ago,  before  Eastlake  had 
printed  his  book,  many  fine  wall-papers 
were  brought  over  here  from  France,  in 
which  delicate  vines  made  a  tangled  mass 
of  agreeable  shapes,  and  covered  a  ground- 
work neutral  in  color  like  itself.  The  pat- 
terns were  not  exactly  like  those  of  the 
Morris  papers,  but  so  equally  were  the  deco- 
rations arid  the  nnder-tint  balanced,  that  to 
the  most  sensitive  eye,  if  they  did  not  give 
positive  pleasure,  at  least  they  produced  no 
disturbance  of  the  mind.  But  the  American 
people  in  those  days  had  not  analyzed  their 
impressions  very  much,  and  had  not  yet 
learned  why  such  unobtrusive  ornamenta- 
tion is  agreeable.  They  consequently  were 
constantly  led  away  by  fearful  forms  and 
colors,  and  at  that  period  bedrooms  were 
the  especially  weak  points,  where  all  sorts 


81 


of  ugly  papers  appeared.  In  the  dwellings 
of  the  richest,  the  most  intelligent,  and  the 
most  tasteful  people,  in  town  or  city,  great 
pink  peonies  were  scattered  at  set  distances 
among  bright-green  leaves  on  a  slate-colored 
groundwork  in  the  best  guest-chamber  of 
the  house. 

The  first  principle  that  should  be  consid- 
ered by  the  designer  of  a  wall-paper  is  that 
the  decoration  of  the  sides  of  a  room  ought 
always  to  be  a  background,  more  or  less 
rich,  according  to  circumstances,  for  the  men. 
and  women,  furniture  and  ornaments,  re- 
lieved against  it.  If  this  idea  is  kept  in 
mind,  a  little  knowledge  and  experience  in 
combinations  of  color  and  figure  will  sug- 
gest arrangements  of  patterns  on  a  wall- 
paper that  will  give  a  satisfactory  result. 

It  is  difficult  in  designing  a  pattern  to 
make  one  that  shall  be  equally  agreeable  for 
a  large  or  a  small  room,  because  little  groups 
of  objects  on  a  paper  covering  a  limited 
space  take  pleasant  general  figures,  which, 
if  they  are  seen  scattered  over  a  large  sur- 
face, make  geometrical  combinations  that 
destroy  the  effect  of  the  most  attractive 
patterns  examined  iu  detail.  As  an  illus- 
tration of  this  we  recollect  a  pretty  pattern 
of  grasses  and  wheat-heads  scattered  so  as 
6 


closely  to  cover  a  wall-paper,  and  the  deli- 
cate figures  made  a  gray  net-work  upon  a 
light  ground.  At  the  first  glance  the  tra- 
cery seemed  without  positive  plan,  beyond 
affording  agreeable  resting -points  for  the 
eye  at  stated  intervals,  where  the  wheat- 
heads  focnssed  the  tangle  of  slender  leaves. 
But  from  further  experience  it  became  ap- 
parent that  the  grasses  took  large  curved 
lines  in  a  geometrical  construction  so  posi- 
tive that  a  sense  of  dizziness  was  the  inevi- 
table result  of  contemplating  the  paper  for 
any  length  of  time.  Had  the  room  been 
smaller,  or  the  spaces  more  broken  by  doors 
or  windows,  these  long,  interlacing,  wravy 
lines  would  have  been  unobtrusive  or  con- 
cealed ;  but,  placed  in  an  apartment  twelve 
feet  high  and  nearly  twenty  feet  in  length, 
they  became  uncomfortably  prominent. 

Japanese  papers,  so  truly  beautiful  for 
screens,  and  so  perfect  of  themselves  as 
works  of  art,  are  frequently  open  to  this  ob- 
jection. We  recently  saw  a  fine  imitation 
of  a  Japanese  paper-hanging  composed  of 
cream-colored  and  gold  tints,  the  figures  of 
which  were  on  the  basis  of  grouped  circles. 
Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  than  this 
paper  when  spread  upon  a  screen,  but  on  the 
walls  of  a  drawing  -  room  the  emphasized 


circle,  which  was  the  biggest  and  brightest 
object  in  the  group,  stuck  out  with  dazzling 
prominence,  to  the  destruction  of  the  effect 
of  any  pictures  or  furniture  placed  against  it. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  basis  of  all 
Arabic  or  Saracenic  decoration  is  geometri- 
cal; and  that  certain  mathematical  shapes, 
through  a  pattern,  however  completely  they 
be  concealed,  are  appreciated  by  the  in- 
stinct, if  not  by  the  eye,  as  the  real  sub-struct- 
ure. Japanese  work  appears  to  the  igno- 
rant as  a  very  free  rendering  of  Nature,  and 
the  grouping  of  the  forms  seems  to  be  acci- 
dental; but  no  work  in  the  world,  if  we 
except  the  compositions  of  the  great  mas- 
ters, is  so  perfectly  balanced  as  that  of  the 
Japanese  in  its  masses  of  light  and  shade. 
A  little  concentrated  bundle  of  lines  or  col- 
ors holds  in  its  proper  equilibrium  a  wan- 
dering vine  or  a  flight  of  tiny  birds  or  in- 
sects, or  petals  of  flowers ;  and  this  small 
well-accented  spot  is  always  found  to  be  the 
apex  of  a  triangle  or  the  intersection  of  a  set 
of  circles. 

Such  are  some  of  the  points  to  be  consid- 
ered in  reference  to  figures,  which  reading 
and  reflection  will  greatly  amplify;  and  the 
designer  will  find  that  the  grouping  and  ar- 
rangement, and  the  character  of  tints  and 


colors,  have  a  still  more  important  place  in 
his  scheme. 

Looking  over  a  vast  number  of  paper- 
hangings  a  short  time  ago,  the  most  poteut 
fact  we  gathered  from  their  survey  consist- 
ed in  the  impression  that  the  beauty  of  the 
papers  arose  ranch  more  from  a  successful 
combination  of  colors  than  from  any  special 
loveliness  of  design.  We  noticed  many  of 
the  Morris  patterns  and  others,  where,  in  a 
small  set  of  squares,  grave  and  rich  effects 
were  produced  by  a  skilful  variety  of  tints 
of  olive  and  bronze,  here  and  there  enlivened 
by  small  touches  of  pale  red.  Some  of  these 
little  squares  held  leaves  of  plants,  others 
simple  circles,  and  others  again  some  formal 
geometrical  pattern.  Yet  the  result  of  them 
all  was  one  and  the  same,  of  a  quiet  and 
sheeny  shadow,  relieving  against  its  rich 
hues  positive  tints  in  clothing,  or  bright 
china,  or  brilliant  glass,  as  well  as  the  peo- 
ple and  furniture  in  the  room.  We  imag- 
ined, as  we  contemplated  this  beautiful 
effect,  how  disagreeable  the  papers  would 
be  if,  instead  of  pleasant  secondary  and  ter- 
tiary tones  of  bronzes  and  gray  reds  and 
blues,  a  bright  green  trefoil  had  been  con- 
trasted on  a  scarlet  background;  and  we 
thought  whether  any  combination  of  line 


would  have  charm  where  bright  purple  vio- 
lets stared  at  us  from  orange  undergrounds. 
Yet,  niitil  of  late,  such  have  but  too  gener- 
ally been  the  colors  and  the  contrasts  which 
the  papers  in  our  rooms  have  forced  upon  us. 

If  these  violent  colors  can  destroy  pleas- 
ing and  refined  shapes,  they  are  much  more 
repulsive  when  seen  in  combination  with 
bad  figures.  The  dreariness  of  an  English 
bedroom,  with  its  paper  forty  or  fifty  years 
old,  on  which  great,  staring  bunches  of  ill- 
shaped  flowers  are  daubed  of  every  conceiv- 
able hue,  comes  to  us  as  the  most  dismal 
point  of  any  of  our  English  experiences, 
which  usually  were  so  pleasant.  These 
same  bad  papers  can  now  be  bought  in  nearly 
every  "  variety  store  "  in  any  village  in  the 
United  States,  and  they  are  found  but  too 
often  in  the  bed-chambers  and  sitting-rooms 
of  houses  of  the  middle  class,  and  in  attics 
everywhere. 

There  are  two  or  three  old  saws  of  "  let- 
ting well  enough  alone,"  and  "  if  you 
can't  do  well,  don't  do  anything,"  etc.,  which 
apply  especially  to  paper-hangings.  Ever 
since  we  can  remember,  there  has  been  an 
agreeable  kind  of  paper  so  simple  in  its 
attempts  at  form  and  color  that  any  one  was 
sure  to  be  pleased  if  he  covered  his  walls 


with  it.  These  papers  consisted  of  narrow, 
simple  stripes,  tiny  clover-leaves,  or  it  may 
be  little  star-shaped  figures,  gray  or  white, 
upon  a  background  scarcely  different  from 
itself.  A  cool  and  pretty  effect  was  always 
given  to  an  apartment  thus  covered,  and, 
if  rich  oil-paintings  could  not  bear  the  con- 
trast with  so  chilly  a  color,  no  headache 
was  ever  aggravated,  no  ornament  was  ever 
obscured  by  it.  A  paper  so  neutral  was  at 
any  rate  not  positively  offensive,  and  was 
the  best  of  the  common  papers  till  the  re- 
vival in  taste  and  increased  knowledge  have 
introduced  a  higher  and  a  more  complica- 
ted standard. 

In  the  present  desire  for  designing,  many 
people  little  experienced  in  drawing  or 
painting  are  tempted  by  natural  taste  or  by 
fashion  to  try  their  powers  in  making  pat- 
terns of  many  kinds.  In  the  Decorative 
Art  Society  in  New  York  letters  are  con- 
stantly received  from  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, saying  that  the  writers  would  like  to 
decorate  china,  cloth,  and  many  other  ma- 
terials, but  that  they  do  not  know  ou  what 
general  principles  they  should  start.  One 
of  the  most  skilful  artists  of  New  York 
said  recently  to  some  young  ladies  to  whom 
he  was  lecturing  ou  china-decoration,  that 


S7 


if  they  did  not  know  how  to  combine  many 
tints,  the  best  way  was  to  take  two  aud 
make  the  most  of  them.  Before  beginning 
to  paint  the  experimenter  would  be  facili- 
tated in  his  work  by  taking  various  pieces 
of  cloth  of  different  hues,  and  having  made 
a  selection,  first  make  one  combination  and 
then  another  of  two  of  the  shades  till  he 
could  decide  what  best  suited  the  intended 
design.  As  a  general  thing  for  wall-papers, 
the  effect  of  cheerfulness  and  repose  is  a 
good  aim  for  bedrooms ;  for  a  dining-room 
richness;  and  for  a  library  solidity  and 
gravity  of  tone  ;  while  light  and  airy  effects 
are  most  adapted  to  the  drawing-room. 
Glittering  or  sharp  color  should  never  be  in- 
dulged in  upou  any  wall -paper  except  in 
very  small  quantities. 

Having  decided  upon  his  tints,  which 
may  be  suggested — as  reds,  or  reds  aud  pur- 
ples for  a  dining-room,  bronze  shades  with 
slight  points  of  yellow  or  gold  for  a  library, 
slight  soft  shades  of  blue  for  bedrooms,  and 
cream-colors  mingled  with  a  little  gold  for  a 
drawing-room — the  designer  is  next  to  con- 
sider the  forms  best  adapted  to  his  purpose, 
and  for  this  he  should  constantly  study  the 
effect  upou  the  eye  of  different  classes  of  fig- 
ures. Long,  perpendicular  lines,  as  it  is  well 


known,  lead  the  eye  up  and  give  an  impres- 
sion of  height  to  an  apartment  that  no 
other  combination  can  realize.  Figures 
whose  predominating  lines  are  horizontal 
lower  the  stud  of  a  room ;  big,  detached 
patterns  at  regular  distances  apart  tire  the 
eye  and  the  mind  with  the  constant  ten- 
dency to  count  and  recombine  them  ;  and, 
besides,  they  compete  so  powerfully  with 
other  objects  on  the  walls,  such  as  pict- 
ures and  bric-a-brac,  and  they  disturb  the 
effect  of  background  to  people  or  furni- 
ture so  completely,  that  this  class  of  forms 
is  perhaps  of  all  classes  the  most  to  be 
condemned.  The  scintillating  effect  of 
small  figures  renders  them  perhaps  the  most 
suitable  for  wall-papers.  Saracenic  deco- 
ration is  probably  as  perfect  as  any  for  cov- 
ering large  surfaces,  and  their  arabesques 
being  small,  if  not  repeated  continually,  at 
any  rate  the  geometrical  figure  which  they 
make  constantly  recurs.  A  paper  which  is 
now  much  liked  is  composed  ou  a  basis  so 
simple  that  nearly  anybody  with  taste  in 
such  matters  could  work  up  an  analogous 
design.  The  paper  is  nrst  divided  off  into 
squares  about  four  inches  each  way,  and  in 
one  of  these  squares  circles  of  different 
dimensions  are  first  constructed ;  the  inside 


of  the  second  one  being  edged  with  small 
half-circles  that  suggest,  though  vaguely, 
the  terminations  of  the  petals  of  a  flower. 
The  small  rounds  at  either  corner  of  the 
square  serve  to  fill  in  and  enrich  the 
figure,  and  they  carry  out  the  decorative 
principle  of  covering  all  the  surface.  The 
opposite  square  of  the  paper  is  a  compo- 
sition from  a  triangle  and  modified  cir- 
cles, and  the  paper  is  tinted  in  two  har- 
monizing hues  of  olive  with  concentra- 
tions of  shadow,  color,  and  faint  edges  of 
gold,  which  enliven  and  emphasize  what 
might  otherwise  appear  dead  aud  meaning- 
less. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  on  a  slight  analysis 
how  many  patterns  which  would  produce 
the  same  general  impression  of  mellow  gray 
could  be  constructed  on  this  scheme  of  form 
and  color.  Suppose  the  series  of  big  circles 
were  converted  into  four  sets  of  small  ones 
and  stems  or  points  similar  to  the  end  of 
the  bell  -  like  triangle  connected  them  to- 
gether, a  group  suggestive  of  conventional- 
ized flowers  would  be  the  result,  and 
produce  an  effect  essentially  like  this  one ; 
while  the  big  triangular  figure  somewhat 
resembling  the  profile  of  a  flower  in  the 
pattern,  with  pointed  leaves  to  its  calyx, 


00 


might  as  easily  and  as  successfully  be  com- 
bined into  a  group. 

Another  is  made  from  much  the  same  mo- 
tive, except  that  broken  sprigs  of  leaves 
closely  fill  in  the  surface,  and  balance  by 
their  mass  the  tint  of  the  somewhat  lighter 
background;  while  formal  petals  of  the  same 
relative  size  occupy  intervening  squares. 

A  very  pleasant  arrangement  of  color  for 
a  wall-paper  may  be  suggested  by  copying 
the  color  of  some  material  hung  in  folds, 
whose  surface  presents  two  shades,  one 
warmer  than  the  other  where  the  light 
catches  the  prominent  folds,  or  a  deeper  and 
mellower  tint  appears  in  the  shadows.  Such 
coloring  as  this  is  always  in  harmony,  and 
if  the  effect  can  be  still  further  enhanced  by 
slight  markings  of  gold  corresponding  to  the 
highest  lights  on  the  material,  we  arrive  at 
a  result  pleasant  and  unobtrusive.  If  the 
colors  are  shades  of  olive,  the  absence  of  any 
enlivening  tint  in  the  paper  itself  would  ren- 
der a  deep  border  splashed  with  a  rich  and 
dark  hue,  such  as  crimson  or  green,  both  ap- 
propriate and  effective.  It  would  be  well 
to  observe  in  the  two  patterns  given  how  a 
perfectly  conventional  form  is  the  element 
of  one,  while  in  the  second  more  freedom  is 
given  to  the  fancy  by  dropping  over  the  lit- 


01 


tie  squares  natural  leaves  or  flowers,  though 
care  must  be  taken  in  such  a  case  that  the 
general  effect  of  the  whole,  when  seen  from 
a  distance,  shall  be  of  a  net-work  fine  enough 
not  to  interfere  with  the  large  mass  of  the 
squares. 

A  third  is  a  pattern  somewhat  more  com- 
plicated than  either  of  the  preceding,  and 
it  combines  in  its  general  construction  an 
octagon  and  a  square.  Many  variations  of 
the  dividing  lines  could  be  suggested,  but 
here  the  idea  has  been  carried  out  of  button- 
ing the  forms  together  at  their  corners,  as  is 
so  often  seen  in  old  grated  windows,  while 
the  octagons  are  h'lled  in  by  conventional 
roses,  and  by  sprigs  of  rose-leaves  arranged 
in  a  formal  way.  Any  one  with  a  little  ob- 
servation or  knowledge  of  botany  can  gen- 
eralize such  forms  by  studying  the  way  in 
which  leaves  grow  on  a  stem  ;  whether  they 
spring  from  a  common  centre,  or  if  they  al- 
ternate or  stand  opposite  to  one  another. 
Designs  are  often  seen  where  this  want  of 
observation  of  Nature  is  apparent,  and  plants 
are  put  on  stiff,  hard  stalks,  wheu  wavy, 
vine-like  stems  are  natural,  and  hollyhocks, 
or  pinks,  or  sunflowers  grow  from  the  twin- 
ing forms  of  a  convolvulus  or  a  melon.  In 
the  treatment  of  flowers,  the  designer  should 


study  the  general  aspect  of  an  open  blossom, 
aud  notice  if  the  outline  it  makes  is  scal- 
loped, as  in  the  rose,  or  pointed,  as  in  the 
lily ;  after  this,  with  a  few  generalized  ad- 
ditions, as  in  the  varied  circles  of  the  rose, 
if  he  does  not  produce  a  real  imitation  of  a 
flower,  he  has  given  both  in  the  leaves  aud 
the  blossoms  many  of  their  large  rudimenta- 
ry elements.  Used  for  such  a  subordinate 
ornament  to  a  room  as  a  wall-paper,  which, 
as  we  said,  should  be  considered  merely  as  a 
retiring  shadow  or  distance,  such  a  pattern 
as  this  is  in  many  respects  more  agreeable 
aud  more  suitable  than  one  covered  with 
realistic  and  not  decorative  designs. 

We  come  now  to  a  class  of  wall  -  papers 
which  are  much  in  fashion,  and  are  classed 
under  the  head  of  "  Morris  "  papers. 

The  "  spider-web  "  pattern  contains  a  geo- 
metrical basis  in  the  radiating  lines  of  the 
spider-web,  though  it  is  inconspicuous, 
Over  these  faint  little  webs  are  spread  out 
with  no  apparent  regularity,  suggestions  of 
willow-leaves  and  branches  of  that  tree  in 
many  different  positions.  The  design  con- 
tains varieties  of  the  forms  of  willow- 
growths,  without  being  exact  portraits  of 
them.  The  long,  serrated  flexible  leaves, 
with  the  well-developed  buds  at  their  base, 


are  very  characteristic,  aud  in  the  stems  the 
idea  not  only  of  form  but  of  color  is  carried 
out  by  making  them  resemble  the  real  wil- 
low, whose  branches  and  leaves  of  the  same 
hue  we  know  so  well  in  their  moist,  sway- 
ing tips  aud  wavy  branches.  The  color  of 
the  paper  is  iu  two  shades  of  olive -green 
upon  gilded  spider-webs;  brightness  being 
given  by  following  the  suggestion  of  real 
willows,  and  making  the  buds  aud  portions 
of  the  stems  red,  such  as  they  appear  iu 
early  spring.  There  is  something  very  pleas- 
ant iu  the  love  of  Nature  displayed  in  this 
pattern,  where  the  memory  of  the  peculiari- 
ties of  the  tree  is  dwelt  upon  with  such  a 
fresh  and  loving  appreciation.  Character 
is  given  to  the  forms,  which  might  otherwise 
be  vague,  by  adding  dark,  broken  lines  to 
their  edges.  It  would  be  well  for  a  designer 
to  recollect  that,  on  this  point,  outlining  any 
pale  form  with  a  darker  tint  causes  it  to 
appear  darker.  If  a  color  seems  too  cool  or 
too  warm,  an  outline  of  a  warmer  or  a  cooler 
hue  will  help  to  bring  the  whole  mass  to 
the  right  key  As  an  instance,  if  a  sky-blue 
ought  to  appear  warmer,  a  purplish  outline 
will  greatly  enhance  its  value ;  and  the  de- 
signer will  find  that  an  outline  of  a  comple- 
mentary color  will  have  a  very  beautiful 


effect.  Looking  at  a  small  pattern  like  this 
"  spider-web  "  design,  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
criminate whether  any  sets  of  its  curves 
may  assume  an  unpleasant  prominence  seen 
upon  a  large  wall,  but  the  lace-like  way  in 
which  the  figures  closely  cover  the  surface 
of  the  groundwork  diminishes  the  danger 
of  such  au  impression. 

The  "  passion-flower  "  pattern  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  any  geometrical  basis ;  but  it  is 
now  a  favorite  paper-hanging,  and,  if  it  has 
Charles  Blanc's  principle  of  "  Confusion  " 
in  it,  so  quiet  and  harmonious  are  the  gen- 
eral forms  and  colors,  that,  with  proper  re- 
liefs of  large  forms  against  it  of  drapery  and 
pictures,  it  takes  its  place  as  an  agreea- 
ble and  negative  background.  The  blank 
places  are  of  the  same  general  size  as  the 
flowers  and  leaves  of  the  plant,  and,  without 
being  genuine  imitations,  the  flowers  and 
growth  have  many  of  the  leading  forms  of 
the  passion-flower.  The  nearness,  however, 
to  which  it  approaches  Nature  makes  it  less 
refined  and  attractive  as  a  piece  of  decora- 
tion than  the  willows  in  the  "  cobweb '' 
pattern,  which  possesses  the  charm  of  mem- 
ories of  willows  rather  than  the  direct  imi- 
tation of  the  tree  itself. 

While  these  papers  are  sufficient  for  the 


or, 


covering  of  walls  having  a  projecting  or 
painted  cornice,  if  the  edges  of  the  ceiling 
and  side-wall  come  directly  together,  a  con- 
necting ornament  is  desirable.  This  link  to 
bind  the  two  is  afforded  by  borderings.  The 
subject  of  borders  or  cornices  has  been  very 
variously  treated,  and  cornices  and  friezes 
may  consist  of  all  sorts  of  devices,  from  the 
frieze  with  its  panoramic  processions  of 
men  and  animals  to  very  free  naturalis- 
tic renderings  of  Nature,  or  there  may  be 
a  strongly  emphasized  conventional  border. 
On  many  plain-tinted  walls  we  often  see  the 
tipper  edge  dominated  and  enlivened  by 
brilliant  figures  of  all  sorts,  and  where  flat 
colors,  reds,  dark  blues  or  greens,  yellows  or 
blacks,  are  used  simply  the  effect  on  va- 
riously-grouped figures  is  often  quite  fine. 
Our  readers  will  recall  the  Greek  and  the 
Pompeian  wall-borders  as  adding  elegance 
and  interest  to  a  room.  Placed  above  the 
line  where  furniture  or  pictures  break  the 
surface,  the  border  is  the  proper  place  on  a 
wall-decoration  for  the  designer  to  show  his 
skill.  We  recollect  a  lovely  hand  -  paint- 
ed border  of  a  room,  where  large  stalks 
aud  sprays  of  plants,  freely  portrayed, 
were  seen  blown  by  wind,  touched  with  sun- 
light, or  graceful  or  formal,  as  their  leaves 


or  flowers  were  projected  upon  the  wall. 
But  such  cornice-borders  as  these  can  hardly 
be  made  of  paper  cornices,  aud  the  three  pat- 
terns we  suggest  will  illustrate  a  few  varieties 
from  which  designers  can  readily  take  their 
elemeutary  ideas.  The  simplest  and  most 
conventional  of  them  all  is  varied  in 
squares  and  oblongs,  with  a  butterfly  oc- 
cupying the  squares,  and  a  flower,  with 
many  of  the  characteristics  of  a  dahlia,  the 
oblongs ;  and  in  the  latter  case  the  treat- 
ment of  the  subject  is  very  similar  to  that 
followed  in  the  willow-twigs  of  the  cobweb 
pattern. 

Another  contains  vine-leaves  and  bunches 
of  grapes  in  pale  robin's -egg -green,  light 
bronze,  and  gilt.  As  we  remarked  before, 
border  -  papers  can  tastefully  be  made 
more  positive  in  hue  than  the  general  shade 
of  the  paper ;  but,  in  this  case,  the  tints  are 
so  delicate  as  to  fit  it  either  for  the  heading 
to  a  plain  wall  or  the  border  of  a  very  light 
paper.  There  is  a  border  of  birds  and 
cherry- twigs  in  dark  browns  and  gold,  and 
the  strength  of  contrast  between  the  dark 
aud  light  compensates  for  the  lack  of  deep 
color;  aud  it  should  be  remembered  that  a 
striking  effect  can  almost  as  readily  be  ob- 
taiued  from  this  method  of  dealiug  with 


light  and  dark  as  from  a  dependence  ou 
strong  tints ;  though  for  our  own  part  the 
massing  and  contrast  of  harmonious  and 
rich  hues  is  more  satisfying  than  any  treat- 
ment of  dark  and  light  that  can  be  devised  ; 
and  this  preference  holds,  we  believe,  with 
most  persons  who  love  color  for  its  own  sake. 

These  borders  are  somewhat  limited  in 
variety  by  the  constant  recurrence  of  the 
same  design  ;  and  we  would  say,  for 
those  having  a  fertile  imagination  in  design- 
ing, that  the  greater  the  number  and  variety 
of  figures  in  a  border  the  more  it  satisfies 
the  aesthetic  feeling.  This  variety  can  of 
course  most  easily  be  carried  out  in  a  hand- 
painted  border,  like  the  one  we  described, 
where  every  figure  was  unique;  but  this,  of 
course,  is  nearly  impossible  for  a  printed 
pattern.  We  recall  an  imitated  Japanese 
design,  in  two  shades  of  tea-colors  so  sim- 
ilar as  almost  to  correspond  to  the  two 
tones  of  a  moving  surface,  like  water  seeu 
in  light  and  shadow. 

The  sprigs  of  leaves  and  buds  are  slightly 
but  characteristically  indicated,  and  cover 
the  paper  with  tolerable  equality.  There  is 
less  conventionality  in  this  pattern,  and,  so 
far  as  tint  goes,  the  effect  must  be  suitable 
for  a  background  to  paintings  or  ornaments. 


It  has  been  said  that  anything  to  which 
fashion  accustoms  us  soon  becomes  agreea- 
ble. A  few  years  ago  most  people  liked  the 
degenerated  rococo  furniture  in  curved  and 
twisted  chairs  and  tables  with  their  orna- 
ments of  scroll-work,  which  was  corrupted 
audcheapenedfrom  the  French  cabinet-wares 
of  the  last  century,  and  which  was  turned  out 
in  wholesale  quantities  by  our  machinery. 

People  thought  they  had  taste  at  that 
time,  and  in  truth  they  had  as  much  as  most 
people  possess  nowadays.  Americans  of  late 
have  travelled  more  than  formerly,  and  be- 
sides have  seen  more  good  Art  at  home,  which 
has  enlarged  the  vision  of  their  likes  and  dis- 
likes. From  this  increased  knowledge  has 
arisen  a  great  deal  of  talk  about  Art,  but  the 
present  passionate  desire  for  decoration  is 
really  as  partial  and  nearly  as  baseless  of 
truth  as  the  fashions  which  preceded  it. 
Genuineness  of  thought,  honesty  of  purpose, 
and  individuality  of  character,  are  scarcely 
more  shown  now  in  our  rooms  filled  with 
Gothic  and  Eastlake  furniture  than  they 
were  when  people  bought  tapestry  carpets 
covered  with  gigantic  roses  and  vines,  or  at 
the  time  when  women  filled  up  canvas  with 
cats,  dogs,  and  people  in  little  square  stitches 
in  worsted- work. 


00 


Fashion  has  undoubtedly  gone  a  step  for- 
ward in  the  way  of  true  principles,  but  as 
long  as  the  basis  of  our  house-decoration  is 
only  fashion,  and  does  not  proceed  from  rea- 
son and  individual  needs,  Eastlake  furniture 
and  South  Kensington  embroidery  are  nearly 
as  liable  to  end  without  result  as  is  the  ob- 
solete rococo.  But  experience  is  a  good 
teacher ;  and  perhaps  slender  purses  and 
greater  general  cultivation  may  help  to 
evolve  ideas  that  shall  form  a  genuine  basis 
of  household  Art.  Fashion  and  variety  have 
always  ruled  the  world  more  or  less,  but  the 
fixed  national  costumes  of  the  peasantry  of 
many  countries  of  Europe,  the  permanent 
ornaments  of  savage  nations  which  are  the 
same  to-day  that  they  were  five  hundred 
years  ago,  and  in  the  Oriental  nations  the 
same  materials  which  make  the  same  gar- 
ments, such  as  shawls  and  carpets  and  pot- 
tery, hint  to  us  that,  either  instinctively  or 
rationally,  people  when  they  have  satisfied 
the  needs  of  their  circumstances  are  some- 
times content  to  retain  their  old  habits  and 
fashions. 

We  have  assimilated  the  changing  habits 
of  the  French,  and  because  we  had  little 
time  to  think  on  such  matters,  and  almost 
anything  would  answer  the- rude  needs  of  a 


new  country,  we  have  been  content  hitherto 
to  alter  our  furniture  and  our  garments  year 
by  year  without  regard  to  their  real  desira- 
bleness, and  with  an  entire  freedom  that  is 
almost  without  precedent  in  other  countries, 
even  where-  they  habitually  change  their 
fashions. 

But,  now  that  we  have  new  and  in  many 
ways  more  intelligent  fashions,  \ve  must  still 
remember  that,  until  we  have  given  them  a 
real  and  positive  basis  in  ourselves,  they  are 
only  fashions,  after  all. 

Most  departments  of  our  surroundings 
have  received  attention,  and  furniture,  cloth- 
ing, architecture,  of  the  outsides,  at  any  rate, 
of  our  buildings,  have  a  certain  style  more 
or  less  handsome ;  and  jewelry,  table-furni- 
ture, and  equipages  are  as  fine  in  America, 
probably,  as  in  any  of  the  European  coun- 
tries. So,  too,  now  our  floors  are  as  well 
carpeted,  and  our  side  -  walls,  if  not  as  ele- 
gant as  in  the  best  European  dwellings,  at 
any  rate  are  quite  tasteful;  but  the  ceilings 
of  houses  until  recently  have  been  left  as 
the  mason  finished  them,  or  they  have  been 
frescoed  in  many  tasteless  and  tawdry  styles 
l>y  second-class  German  decorators. 

From  the  nature  of  ceilings,  the  manner 
of  finishing  them  is  susceptible  of  a  wider 


101 


range  than  the  side -wall  affords,  however 
ornamental  the  latter  may  be.  The  rea- 
son of  this  is  apparent  when  wo  consider 
that  the  ceiling  is  the  only  portion  of  an 
apartment  which  is  not  covered  up  or  ob- 
scured by  furniture  and  ornaments,  and  that 
on  it  the  eye  can  rest  undisturbed  by  sur- 
rounding objects.  The  repose  which  comes 
from  a  repetition  of  small  figures  and  the 
brilliancy  of  effect  of  large  pictures  balanced 
by  suitable  surroundings,  such  as  we  see  in 
one  case  in  the  small  tesselated  figures  of 
the  ceilings  in  Germany,  and  at  the  other  ex- 
treme of  decoration  in  the  gorgeous  and  im- 
posing ceilings  of  the  Doge's  Palace  at  Venice, 
or  the  top  of  the  Sistiuo  Chapel,  are  in  vari- 
ous circumstances  proper  to  ceilings,  and 
the  imagination  can  make  an  almost  endless 
combination  of  effects  in  composing  proper 
ceiling-decoration  from  the  simplest  to  the 
most  elaborate  varieties.  This  opportunity 
gives  a  motive  to  the  architect  or  the  artist 
for  the  display  of  skill  which  would  bo  par- 
tially or  wholly  wasted,  were  large  sections 
of  the  wall  broken  up  and  neutralized  by 
objects  between  it  and  the  spectator.  Be- 
fore considering  what  sorts  of  decoration  are 
best  suited  to  our  dwelling-houses  it  may 
be  interesting  to  our  readers  to  observe  the 


102 


treatment  of  ceilings  by  some  of  the  artists 
and  architects  of  the  past,  from  whom  we 
gather  many  useful  hints. 

Taking  the  later  Greek  ceilings  as  we 
find  them  in  what  remains  in  the  disinterred 
Pompeiau  houses,  we  discover  that  their 
main  rooms  were  lighted  by  a  large  square 
opening  in  the  top — for  the  houses  were  sel- 
dom more  than  one  story  high — and  these 
openings  afforded  the  light  which  is  gained 
in  modern  buildings  through  side-windows. 
The  brilliant  skies  of  Italy  flooded  the  large 
atrium  or  main  room  of  these  houses  with 
a  varying  brightness,  which  was  broken 
by  colonnades  in  this  main  apartment,  or 
dimmed  in  the  recessed  chambers  which 
opened  out  from  it.  No  system  of  lighting 
could  be  more  effective  in  its  chiaro-oscuro 
than  this  one ;  for,  while  the  "  dim  religious 
light"  of  Gothic  architecture  is  only  soft 
and  mysterious,  that  of  these  Greco-Rouiau 
houses  varied  all  the  way  from  the  gorgeous 
sunshine  that  glittered  on  the  impluviums  or 
fountains  on  the  floor  below  the  top  opening 
of  the  rooms  to  the  shadowed  chambers 
whose  dusky  frescos  enriched  but  did  not 
enliven  the  side  -  walls.  We  all  know  the 
Poinpeian  decorations  on  whose  black  or 
dull -red  backgrounds  Centaurs  and  Mino- 


103 


taurs,  Cupids  aud  Loves,  are  poised  in  the 
air  iu  every  position  of  grace. 

But,  on  the  sides  of  this  skylight  opening, 
the  remains  which  yet  exist  enable  us  to  re- 
construct the  ceiling,  and  we  discover  that 
the  later  Greeks  were  not  content  to  adorn 
their  walls  and  floors  only  with  devices  rich 
and  varied,  but  that  their  ceilings  also  were 
equally  elaborate.  In  the  Pompeian  dwell- 
ings we  find  them  checkered  aud  traversed 
in  all  directions  by  beams  and  lattice-work 
in  many-colored  variations  from  the  natural 
tints  of  the  wood  which  composed  them. 
The  sunken  spaces  between  the  beams  were 
filled  by  painted  and  gilded  rosettes,  scroll- 
work, aud  other  ornaments,  which  carried 
out  to  completeness  the  general  decoration, 
aud  which  occupied  every  space  on  side-wall 
and  pavement. 

But  besides  these  regular  figures  adorn- 
ing the  wooden  roofing  of  such  apartments, 
if  stucco  or  plaster  constituted  the  finish  of 
the  little  rooms  surrounding  the  main  hall, 
irregular  patterns  are  discovered  upon  the 
stucco,  iu  the  midst  of  whose  tender  and 
light  colors  birds,  butterflies,  and  small  ten- 
drils aud  vines  give  an  effect  of  space  and 
airiness  to  these  rooms  so  mean  iu  point  of 
actual  size. 


104 


This  general  character  of  the  wall-deco- 
ration of  the  Greeks  was  very  similar  to  that 
of  Rome,  where  in  the  old  exhumed  ruins 
and  on  the  ceilings  of  some  of  the  Catacombs 
wo  find  the  same  class  of  decoration.  At  a 
later  date  Raphael  adopted  this  style  in  his 
scroll-work  and  arabesques  on  the  walls  of 
the  Vatican,  which  he  composed  of  vines 
and  leaves,  hirds  and  winged  insects,  besides 
other  forms  of  every  curve  and  degree  of 
grace. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  this  method  of  color- 
ing ceilings  was  succeeded  by  the  solid  and 
more  severe  wainscot  in  wood  left  its  nat- 
ural color.  The  north  of  Europe  more  than 
anywhere  else  affords  examples  of  a  finish 
where  common  panels  of  polished  oak  and 
beams,  either  plain  or  carved,  form  the  roofs 
of  halls,  churches,  and  houses.  The  smoky 
rafters,  the  blackened  vaulting,  and  the  dim 
recesses  of  many  an  old  church  come  vividly 
to  the  imagination  ;  and  one's  memory  re- 
calls too  the  mellow  tints  of  the  wood-work 
in  the  large  and  low  rooms  of  German  cas- 
tles and  English  colleges  built  four  or  five 
hundred  years  since.  But  in  more  recent 
times  intercourse  with  Italy  and  the  East, 
and  the  influence  of  the  vivid  coloring  of 
stained  glass  and  the  brilliancy  of  Saracenic 


105 


decoration  made  themselves  felt,  and  to  the 
dark,  natural  hues  of  the  wood  succeeded 
paint,  rich  and  varied  in  tone.  Here  were 
ceilings  painted  with  most  vivid  brilliancy, 
mingling  their  hues  with  gold,  while  ara- 
besques and  figured  panels  adorned  the 
walls. 

In  all  these  designs  the  regular  alterna- 
tion or  repetition  of  the  figures  produces, 
though  from  a  different  cause,  the  repose 
which  is  especially  desirable  in  limited  sur- 
faces, and  which  many  people  suppose  erro- 
neously that  plain  color  alone  can  give.  The 
repose  of  repeated  or  alternated  figures  dif- 
fers from  that  of  a  uniform  surface  or  color, 
through  being  uniformity  combined  and  en- 
riched by  variety,  but  in  which  the  uniform- 
ity is  still  the  predominant  principle. 

In  Italy,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
beams  of  such  buildings  as  the  Ducal  Palace 
at  Venice  were  modified  and  made  elaborate 
by  scroll-work  and  gilding,  to  form  magnifi- 
cent frameworks  to  the  pictures  of  the  great- 
est of  the  old  masters.  Paintings  by  Titian, 
Tintoretto,  and  Paul  Veronese  look  down  at 
us  from  these  ceilings,  in  which  we  see  Ven- 
ice represented  as  a  preternatural  being  and 
enthroned  as  a  conqueror;  or  her  princes, 
priests,  and  doges  filling  high  places  in 


church  ceremonies,  or  taking  part  iu  the 
general  councils  of  Italy. 

But  a  great  and  substantial  objection  ex- 
ists against  such  a  style  of  pictorial  decora- 
tion as  this,  unless  it  is  done  by  the  finest 
artists  and  used  in  empty  halls,  since  its 
heaviness  would  otherwise  be  disagreeable, 
especially  if  the  painting  were  not  very 
good.  The  gold  frames  and  strong  colors 
of  the  pictures  are  oppressive  in  apartments 
where  there  are  many  other  objects,  and, 
even  when  the  paintings  are  not  very  large, 
make  moderate  -  sized  rooms  appear  over- 
loaded. 

Between  the  Renaissance  decoration  and 
the  decayed  taste  of  the  time  of  Louis  XIV., 
little  interesting  work  has  been  preserved. 
But  in  the  eighteenth  century  we  come  to  a 
style  in  which  gilt  and  stucco  and  white 
paint  held  supreme  sway  in  France.  Fresco- 
painting  also  mingled  with  this  gilt  and 
white,  and  was  vastly  more  popular  than 
now,  when  stencilling  and  wall-papers  are 
taking  their  place.  Artists  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XIV.  were  devoted  to  delicate  tinting 
and  fancy  scenes,  and  to  such  as  admire 
Watteau  and  his  followers  their  work  was 
beautiful. 

But  this  class  of  decoration  has  now  gone 


by,  and  only  its  feeble  echo  remains,  as  we 
said  in  the  beginning  of  this  article,  and  we 
come  to  the  present  very  recent  development 
of  artistic  taste.  As  from  the  earliest  peri- 
ods wooden  wainscot,  with  its  polished 
boards  and  beams  and  rafters,  has  been  the 
most  natural  and  common  sort  of  roof  to 
apartments  whether  in  Pompeian  dwellings 
or  English  or  German  halls  and  castles,  so 
the  same  idea  of  structural  finish  still  main- 
tains its  hold;  and  ceilings  divided  off  into 
squares  or  oblongs,  and  with  the  projecting 
forms  of  the  wood-work  gilded  or  colored  in 
polychromatic  tints — red,  blue,  yellow,  and 
green — and  with  small  scrolls  and  rosettes 
between  them  in  the  sunken  spaces,  again 
are  popular. 

Until  lately  good  taste  had  been  so  little 
developed  that  it  was  agreed  for  dwelling- 
houses  in  general  that  a  plain  white-colored 
ceiling  was  the  best.  But  at  length  wo  are 
beginning  to  learn  that  the  blank  white  wall 
may  be  relieved  from  its  cold  chilliness  by  a 
slight  mixture  of  buff,  or  greenish,  or  some 
other  hue,  which  gives  a  warmer  and  more 
agreeable  tint  to  a  room  than  simple  white- 
wash. Papers,  we  find,  are  apt  to  be  disa- 
greeable for  ceilings,  since  their  glazed  sur- 
face disturbs  the  eye  by  preventing  the 


103 


vision  from  resting  on,  or  rather  seeming  to 
penetrate,  the  surface  of  the  color.  But  not- 
withstanding the  genera]  impression  among 
inexperienced  persons  that  white  is  to  he 
preferred  for  the  cleanness  of  the  tint,  and 
that  its  purity  gives  a  sense  of  space,  artists 
know  well  that  in  reality  light  blue  is  the 
most  ethereal  color,  and  may  become  exceed- 
ingly so  by  mixing  with  it  a  little  gray,  not 
too  dark.  Should  we  desire  to  make  an  at- 
mospheric distance  in  our  ceilings,  this  color 
would  therefore  be  preferable  to  pure  white. 
But  these  are  the  simplest  considerations  in 
treatment,  and  any  color  may  be  used  pro- 
vided its  masses  are  small  and  the  shade  so 
light  as  to  give  the  impression  of  a  flicker- 
ing depth  above  our  heads. 

But  though  these  pale-tinted  walls  are  un- 
objectionable and  pleasant  in  their  way,  and, 
besides,  are  quite  different  in  their  effect  in 
a  room  from  ceilings  frescoed  in  aerial  per- 
spective, we  believe  that  it  is  a  false  taste 
which  insists  that  a  ceiling  should  appear  to 
recede  so  as  to  lose  its  solidity.  The  idea 
that  it  ought  to  produce  a  feeling  akin  to 
the  firmament,  to  which  no  bounds  are  set, 
and  that  it  should  have  a  sense  of  unlimited 
space,  seems  to  us  both  dreary  and  without 
true  basis.  We  are  persuaded,  from  long 


109 


thought  ami  observation,  that  the  top  of  a 
room  ought  to  produce  the  impression  of  a 
real  roof  over  our  heads,  to  shield  us  from 
sun  and  rain;  and  that,  unless  the  wall  is  so 
low  as  to  intrude  uncomfortably  ou  our  con- 
sciousness, designs,  larger  or  smaller,  darker 
or  lighter,  according  to  the  character  of  the 
apartment,  are  more  pleasant  than  a  cold 
and  empty  space  over  our  heads,  from  the 
contemplation  of  which  the  eye  and  the 
mind  alike  shrink  disconcerted. 

To-day  enlightened  architects,  well  read 
in  the  ideas  and  needs  which  constituted  the 
basis  of  the  old  decoration,  are  applying  the 
same  general  principles  which  were  used 
then,  to  meet  the  present  decorative  needs, 
of  which  that  of  ceilings  forms  a  feature. 
The  first  thought  of  a  decorator  is  to  study 
the  style  of  his  room,  and,  whatever  be  its 
form,  to  adapt  the  colors  and  the  general 
character  of  the  ornament  to  its  structural 
requirements. 

The  Roman,  Italian,  and  Greek  architect- 
ure, as  we  have  seen,  had  their  own  differ- 
ences, and  the  Gothic,  Renaissance,  and 
Queen  Anne  styles  theirs  also,  which  was 
each  suitable  for  its  own  kind  of  rooms. 
Our  buildings  have  other  aims,  and  the 
tasteful  architect,  though  he  always  plans 


110 


his  decoration  to  follow  broadly  the  type  of 
the  architecture  iii  which  the  room  is  mod- 
elled, at  the  same  time  remembers  the  vari- 
ous conditions  of  climate  and  social  arrange- 
ment which  should  modify  all  ornament. 
The  exact  designs  of  former  periods  ought 
scarcely  ever  to  be  reproduced ;  and  our 
architects,  while  mastering  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  old  styles,  and  adopting  modifica- 
tions of  what  is  suitable  in  them,  are  often 
introducing  novel  elements  both  in  England 
and  this  country,  which  give  their  decora- 
tion both  dignity  and  beauty. 

In  finishing  a  modern  apartment,  the  first 
improvement  in  the  old  and  tasteless  meth- 
ods would  be  to  omit  the  stucco  centre-piece 
from  the  ceiling.  These  centre-pieces  are 
generally  in  bad  taste,  and  rarely  does  a 
room  look  so  well  with  as  without  them.  For 
a  simple  finish,  a  pain  ted  or  stencilled  pattern 
repeating  itself  in  every  direction  is  excellent. 

There  is  no  reason,  however,  why  a  ceil- 
ing may  not  be  more  elaborate  as  long  as  it 
preserves  a  character  of  balance  and  light- 
ness in  its  tracery.  A  large  frescoed  centre, 
with  corners  to  correspond,  is  in  many  ways 
more  agreeable,  and  indicates  a  more  culti- 
vated judgment  than  one  with  very  simple 
and  often  repeated  designs. 


Ill 


The  colors  of  a  ceiling  preferred  by  deco- 
rators of  the  best  taste  consist  of  flat  tints, 
in  which  no  shading  would  give  the  sugges- 
tion of  elevations  or  hollows  in  any  part. 
Should  the  top -wall  have  real  joints  or 
beams  cutting  its  surface,  the  decoration 
can  be  of  a  very  individual  character.  The 
bottoms  of  the  beams  might  be  covered  with 
a  running  pattern,  such  as  the  Greek  key, 
and  the  sides  of  the  beams  could  have  either 
another  running  pattern  or  one  with  an  up- 
ward turn,  while  between  the  joints  a  diaper 
or  a  star,  or  small  squares,  could  be  formed, 
to  hold  in  the  latter  case  ornamental  figures 
of  various  kinds. 

Simple  conventional  patterns  in  blue  and 
cream  color,  or  blue  and  white,  are  sure  to 
look  well.  These  may  be  painted  with  a 
black  outline,  though  the  outline  makes  the 
pattern  look  somewhat  heavy;  but,  should 
it  be  desirable  to  hang  large  chandeliers 
from  the  middle  of  the  room,  this  increase 
in  the  apparent  strength  of  the  wall  is  an 
advantage.  Designs  of  this  sort  may  be 
made  in  wall-paper,  if  cheapness  is  necessa- 
ry, rather  than  to  have  hand  -  painting  or 
stencilling,  but  we  have  given  the  rea- 
sons before  why  papers  are  unsatisfactory. 
Gold  ornaments  on  a  blue  ground,  and 


with  black  outlines,  are  also  rich  and  band- 
some. 

A  very  pretty  ceiling  may  be  made  by 
those  desiring  the  idea  of  a  vaulted  roof  by 
placing  pale  cream-colored  stars  on  a  deep 
blue  ground,  or  pale  blue  ones  ou  a  cream- 
colored  wall.  In  an  ordinary-sized  room 
these  stars  should  vary  in  size  from  about 
one  inch  in  diameter  to  three  inches ;  the 
large  stars  having  six  points,  and  the  smaller 
ones  three.  If  the  stars  of  different  sizes 
are  intermixed,  but  are  at  the  same  time 
disposed  at  equal  distances,  the  impression 
is  agreeable,  and  this  arrangement  is  much 
in  favor  with  the  Japanese.  The  stars 
should  be  smaller  if  placed  on  a  dark  ground 
than  on  a  light  one,  since  a  strong  contrast 
renders  objects  more  conspicuous,  and  thus 
disturbs  the  relative  size  of  the  background 
and  the  ornament.  If  each  star  have  an 
outline  somewhat  darker  than  itself,  a  yet 
more  brilliant  effect  will  be  the  result ; 
though,  as  the  tone  of  our  suggestions  indi- 
cates, conspicuous  effect  on  ceilings  is  scarce- 
ly desirable,  unless  the  designer  is  entirely 
sure  that  his  designs  are  in  thoroughly  good 
taste. 

The  ceiling  ought  to  be  beautiful  and  also 
positively  noticeable,  but,  if  the  decorator  is 


113 


ill  doubt  as  to  tho  trustworthiness  of  his 
own  tasto,  a  delicate  and  rather  negative 
set  of  colors  can  be  more  safely  used. 

Arabesques  are  generally  weak  and  un- 
satisfactory ;  and  so  are  hanging  festoons 
of  flowers,  and  feeble  ornament  with  ficti- 
tious light  and  shade  ;  but  one  of  the  worst 
forms  of  painting  the  tops  of  rooms  seems  to 
us  the  imitation  panelling,  with  some  parts 
projecting  and  others  hollowed  out.  Buskin' 
dwells  constantly  on  seeking  truth  in  Art 
for  truth's  sake,  and  this  is  undoubtedly  the 
right  standard  of  excellence  ;  but  "honesty' 
also  "is  the  best  policy"  for  Art  applied  in 
the  way  of  giving  deceptive  effects  in  rooms. 
The  eye  is  instinctively  caught  by  painted 
shadows,  which  must  necessarily  fall  wrong 
during  some  portions  of  tho  twenty-four 
hours,  when  gas  takes  the  place  of  the  day- 
light; and  from  this  result  the  confusion 
of  mind  and  puzzled  curiosity  than  which 
nothing  is  more  foreign  to  the  quiet  and  bal- 
ance of  a  true  esthetic  condition. 

In  all  ages  when  the  arts  have  nourished, 
every  part  of  a  room  has  been  adorned  with 
ornament.  Tho  Egyptians  decorated  their 
walls,  and  so  did  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
as  we  have  seeu ;  and  besides  them,  tho  By- 
zantines, Moors,  and  the  Europeans  from  tho 

8 


time  of  the  Middle  Ages;  and  plain  walls 
seem  never  to  have  been  held  in  good  repute 
by  any  cultivated  people  of  the  past.  Judg- 
ing from  such  antecedents  it  would  seem 
strange  that  decoration  in  the  United  States, 
in  this  advanced  age  of  the  world,  has  till 
lately  been  so  little  valued.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  all  the  plastic  and  pictorial 
arts  have  for  many  years  had  a  peculiar  life- 
lessness  everywhere,  and  artists  have  been 
floundering  amid  empirical  experiments. 
Besides  this  reason,  which  has  hindered 
even  the  most  cultivated  of  Americans,  and 
even  Europeans,  from  daring  to  attempt 
much  in  the  way  of  decoration,  our  archi- 
tecture and  ornament  have  felt  the  lack  of 
stimulus  which  is  afforded  in  nearly  every 
city  in  Europe  by  the  sight  of  the  good  Art 
of  the  past.  But  this  lack  of  decoration  is 
now  giving  place  to  more  or  less  intelligent 
workmanship,  and  it  remains  for  us  to  try 
and  extract  the  true  and  permanent  princi- 
ples of  ornament  from  the  feverish  fashions 
which  envelop  it.  Hitherto  our  hotel  din- 
ing-rooms, theatres,  some  churches,  and  a 
very  few  houses  of  the  rich,  have  been  the 
only  buildings  whose  walls  were  ornament- 
ed ;  but  a  more  general  taste  for  the  arts  is 
at  length  bearing  its  fruits,  and  the  people 


in  nearly  all  our  cities  are  studying  out  some 
good  mode  of  treatment  for  the  adorning  of 
their  dwellings,  which  shall  bo  agreeable 
and  effective,  but  not  very  costly  ;  and  we 
are  beginning  often  to  see  pretty  diaper  pat- 
terns and  light  conventionalized  figures  of 
a  pleasant  color  taking  the  place  of  plain 
stuccoed  ceilings. 

We  will  finish  this  subject  of  the  papers 
and  paintings  of  walls  and  ceilings  by  the 
consideration  of  the  lower  part  of  the  side- 
wall,  to  which  a  dado  or  wainscoting  prop- 
erly belongs.  Early  iu  this  article  we  de- 
scribed the  ceilings  of  the  Pompeiau  houses, 
and  in  these  Greco-Roman  dwellings,  which 
are  the  best  remaining  specimens  of  the 
artistic  dwellings  of  antiquity,  we  find  that 
the  dado  was  a  very  important  object  of 
consideration.  The  color  of  the  frieze,  the 
middle  section  of  the  wall,  and  the  dado, 
were  generally  different  iu  their  ground- 
color; but  occasionally  the  three  presented 
the  same  hue,  varied  in  effect  by  the  greater 
richness  of  the  middle  section  of  the  wall. 
As  we  find  in  these  walls  that  base,  middle 
portion,  and  frieze  are  divided  from  each 
other  by  separating  colors,  they  also  show 
us  that  the  tints  increase  in  brightness  from 
below  upward  ;  the  dado  being  often  black, 


116 


the  middle  space  red,  and  the  frieze  having 
a  white  ground-color. 

But  exceptions  to  this  idea  in  decoration 
are  freqnent,  and  we  find  the  base  yellow, 
the  central  space  red,  and  the  frieze  black. 
There  is  no  stringent  aesthetic  law  in  the 
case,  but  it  is  well  known  that  an  increase 
of  brilliancy  of  color  makes  any  space  seem 
lighter  and  more  airy.  Onr  modern  unedu- 
cated ideas  lead  us  to  expect  an  equal  bright- 
ness everywhere,  though  this  was  not  the 
view  taken  by  the  antique  decorator,  more 
true  in  his  artistic  instinct  and  ideas  than 
we  Anglo-Saxons  of  to-day.  He  thought  so 
little  about  brightness  and  gloom  that  he 
not  infrequently  made  his  whole  ground- 
color black,  enlivening  it  by  brilliantly-tint- 
ed ornament ;  and  he  aimed  at  relieving 
well  the  people  and  the  furniture  and  orna- 
ments of  the  apartment,  giving  the  whole  a 
rich  and  harmonious  eifect,  and  to  do  this 
he  avoided  the  neutral  hues  which  so  many 
delight  in  at  present,  such  as  pale  blue,  rose- 
color,  or  grayish-white.  The  men  and  wom- 
en furnished  these  colors  themselves  in  their 
dresses,  and  it  was  the  strong  backgrounds 
that  relieved  them. 

The  houses  of  the  Middle  Ages  had  dados 
for  the  most  part  of  wood,  cither  painted  or 


117 


richly  carved,  above  which  Spanish-leather 
haugiugs,  velvet  with  patteriia  of  gold  or 
silver,  or  tapestries,  formed  the  central  sec- 
tion of  the  wall. 

With  the  development  of  general  taste 
for  house  -  decoration  the  arrangement  of 
dados  has  also  its  share.  By  painting  the 
three  or  four  lower  feet  of  the  room  of  a 
different  color  from  the  general  wall,  a  very 
decorative  look  is  given  to  a  room.  A  rich 
Indian-red  or  chocolate-colored  dado,  sepa- 
rated from  the  space  above  it  by  a  line  of 
black,  produces  apparent  stability  in  the 
wall,  and  much  improves  the  furniture 
and  ornaments.  A  dado  may  be  plain  or 
brightened  by  some  simple  pattern  of  regular 
shape,  in  either  of  which  cases  it  should  be 
enriched  by  a  border  or  piece  of  ornament 
of  a  separate  design. 

If  the  dado  is  ornamented,  the  rest  of  the 
wall  can  be  plain,  if  the  colors  of  both  are 
soft ;  or  the  wall  above  the  dado  would 
have  a  fuller  and  handsomer  effect  by  being 
powdered  with  another  tint,  or  with  gold. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  dados  is  formed 
by  a  diaper  pattern  which  rises  four  or  five 
feet  high  to  form  the  background  for  all 
pieces  of  furniture  except  the  tallest  articles. 
Sideboards,  bookcases,  high  chairs,  pianos, 


118 


and  indeed  nearly  all  the  furniture  of  a  par- 
lor or  library,  look  well  so  placed  ;  above 
this  simple  dado  on  the  middle  wall,  but  so 
high  that  it  is  clearly  in  sight,  the  architect 
and  decorator  have  then  a  delightful  oppor- 
tunity to  fill  the  space  to  the  ceiling  or  cor- 
nice either  with  painted  panels,  pictures  of 
suitable  size  well  placed,  or  with  wall-hang- 
ings of  cloth  or  fresco-paintings.  In  a  large 
room  no  effect  is  better  than  this  one,  and 
the  color  of  the  dado  may  be  of  any  rich  and 
warm  neutral  shade  of  red,  brown,  green,  or 
autumn-leaf  hue.  The  pattern  of  the  dado 
can  be  of  any  of  the  geometrical  shapes  we 
have  mentioned  as  suitable  for  wall-papers, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  these  patterns  are 
satisfactory  beyond  any  that  flowers,  vines, 
or  curved  figures  produce.  The  various 
straight  lines  of  geometrical  figures  afford  a 
seeming  support  to  the  room  and  add  to  its 
impression  of  strength  and  solidity. 

A  dado  of  polished  wood  is  very  beautiful, 
either  carved  or  with  nicely-matched  join- 
ings, to  form  the  base  of  a  side-wall.  If  its 
height  be  sufficient,  many  ornaments  may 
be  fitly  hung  against  it,  such  as  steel  armor 
in  a  hall,  bunches  of  fans,  or  little  hanging 
shelves  with  cut  or  colored  glass  in  a  parlor, 
or  brass  ornaments  and  odds  and  ends  of 


119 


bric-&-brac,  jars,  old  plaques,  and,  iu  short, 
any  objects  which  possess  either  color  or  iu- 
teresting  forms.  These  may  occupy  vacant 
spaces  between  bookcases,  or  they  can  hang 
over  low  tables  or  be  placed  upon  small 
stands.  In  conjunction  with  their  back- 
grounds of  polished  oak  or  walnut,  with  the 
varied  shades  of  the  nicely-grained  wood 
with  its  sunk  or  projecting  joinings  and 
cross-pieces,  a  bit  of  Kioto-ware,  half  in  light 
and  half  in  dark  shadow,  iu  some  dim  cor- 
ner of  a  room,  or  a  sky-blue  Japanese  screen 
glinting  in  the  firelight  against  the  dark 
wooden  panel,  makes  a  bit  of  a  still-life  pict- 
ure as  beautiful  as  anything  which  is  paint- 
ed on  canvas,  so  far  as  color  and  chiaro-oscuro 
are  concerned. 

The  dividing  space  between  the  side- 
wall  paper  and  the  dado  should  never  be 
very  wide,  and  it  ought  also  to  receive  care- 
ful attention.  Anything  more  than  a  band 
of  color  for  a  dividing  line  breaks  up  the 
simplicity  and  dignity  of  a  wall,  aud  a  wide 
and  elaborate  strip  here  between  the  side- 
wall  paper  and  the  dado  gives  the  impression 
of  three  or  four  different  kinds  of  ornamen- 
tation competing  for  prominence.  If  the 
dado  be  in  a  plain  color,  three  or  four  inches 
will  be  quite  sufficient. 


A  very  pleasant  room  could  thus  be  made 
by  Laviug  the  ceiliug  iu  dark  blue  ami 
cream-color,  as  we  have  described,  and  the 
cornice  colored  with  a  dominant  tint  of  blue, 
with  the  side-wall  cream-color  down  to  the 
dado,  the  border  of  the  dado  some  black  geo- 
metrical pattern  on  dull-orange  ground,  and 
the  dado  of  chocolate-color  with  small  black 
figures  finished  at  the  floor  by  a  varnished 
black  line.  Dados  may  be  varnished  or  left 
in  dead  color,  but  the  side-wall  and  ceiling 
are  invariably  better  if  of  dead  color.  If  a 
citrine  side-wall  be  used,  a  dark-blue,  dado 
of  a  grayish  shade  or  a  rich  maroon  dado 
looks  well ;  and  if  the  deep-blue  dado  be 
made,  the  skirting  line  should  be  indigo 
varnished. 

The  suggestions  we  have  made  in  regard 
to  the  proper  manner  of  ornamenting  rooms 
contain  a  few  well-admitted  principles  so 
simple  that  any  person  of  taste  can  easily 
trace  them,  and  with  a  little  experience 
carry  them  out  to  their  various  conclusions. 
It  seems  almost  commonplace  to  urge  the 
fact  that  a  suitable  dado  gives  a  richness 
and  elegance  beyond  what  can  be  obtained 
with  a  side-wall  paper  going  to  the  floor. 
A  mellow-hued,  inconspicuous  wall-paper, 
any  one  can  imagine,  must  afford  a  fine  re- 


121 


lief  to  persons  or  objects  iu  the  room  ;  while 
a  delicate  ceiling  well  covered  with  small 
patterns  encloses  an  apartment  with  a  sense 
of  completeness  never  produced  by  a  plain 
and  cold  top-wall. 

Let  the  decorator  then  proceed  iu  his 
work,  thinking  of  harmony  of  color  and 
suitableness  of  design,  and  he  may  be  sure 
that  his  work  will  be  pleasing  if  he  use  very 
few  colors  and  small  patterns  wheu  he  is 
not  certain  about  a  greater  variety  of  tints, 
or  more  complicated  combinations  of  form. 
He  will  discover  that  a  small  room  looks 
best  with  the  lesser  form  and  lesser  color  of 
desigus  which  a  large  hall  or  parlor  would 
redeem  by  its  size  from  a  too  positive  aud 
glaring  couspicuousiiess. 


THE  PROGRESS   OF  AMERICAN   DEC- 
ORATIVE  ART. 

BY   MARY   GAY   HUMPHREYS. 

NOTHING  would  gratify  me  more  than  to 
declare  that  the  decorative  impetus  in 
America  was  due  to  no  outside  influence, 
but  was  essentially  national.  But  there  is, 
unfortunately,  no  escaping  the  fact  that  it 
was  to  English  influence,  and  more  particu- 
larly as  it  was  felt  at  the  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion in  1876,  that  the  movement  owes  its 
origin  ;  or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct 
to  say  that  the  public  thereby  gained  a  gen- 
eral idea  of  what  is  meant  by  decorative  art, 
and  of  its  importance  as  a  factor  in  national 
wealth.  Before  this  time  there  were  artists 
in  the Uui  ted  States  who  had  given  much  time 
to  the  study  of  decoration,  and  especially  to 
Japanese  works.  But  this  was  felt,  even 
by  those  best  fitted  to  appreciate  it,  to  be 
a  pardonable  eccentricity,  in  nowise  affect- 
ing anything  to  be  accomplished;  and,  in 


fact,  the  result  of  these  studies  took  no  sub- 
stantial form. 

Before  the  Exposition  of  1876,  however, 
two  wood-carvers,  father  aud  son,  William 
and  Henry  Fry,  Englishmen  —  the  father 
having  studied  his  art  in  England,  and 
having  been  connected  with  some  of  the 
most  important  work  done  there  up  to  the 
time  of  his  emigration  —  had  awakened 
some  interest  in  their  craft  in  Cincinnati. 
Through  Mr.  Beuu  Pitman,  the  photogra- 
pher, also  an  Englishman,  and  a  pupil  of 
the  Frys,  wood-carving  became  popularized  ; 
students  took  it  up  as  a  profession,  and  it 
had  a  lai'ge  dilettanti  following.  This  work 
was  confined  to  Cincinnati,  and  it  only  be- 
came known  generally  at  the  Centennial 
Exposition,  and  chiefly  through  surface 
decoration,  the  work  of  the  women  of  leis- 
ure of  the  State  Ohio. 

Decorative  Art  in  the  United  States  could 
not,  however,  be  long  sustained  on  the  in- 
fluence of  English  Art  thus  received,  since 
our  country  does  not  furnish  the  materials 
on  which  it  depends.  We  have  no  great 
museums,  no  private  collections,  no  noble 
houses,  the  depositories  of  accumulated 
treasures  of  Art ;  no  fine  interiors  of  famous 
houses,  no  architecture,  all  of  which  have 


124 


contributed  so  greatly  to  the  revival  of  Dec- 
orative Art  iu  Euglaud.  Nor  were  these 
otherwise  easily  accessible.  Our  foraging- 
ground  is  across  many  thousand  miles  of 
water,  and  the  materials  gathered  in  hasty 
foreign  tours  are  soon  exhausted.  One  of 
two  things  became  plain  :  Either  American 
artists  must  be  contented  to  reproduce  for- 
eign work,  in  spirit  if  not  in  detail,  or  they 
must  make  new  paths  for  themselves. 

There  has  been  time  enough  to  arrive  at 
their  decision,  and  to  form  some  estimate  of 
its  value.  One  circumstance  has  tended  to 
aid  them  materially  in  whatever  they  did : 
this  is  the  vast  accumulation  of  wealth  in 
individual  hands,  which  has  enabled  Ameri- 
can decorators  to  carry  out  their  ideas  on 
something,  if  not  the  same  scale,  of  magnifi- 
cence that  artists  enjoyed  iu  the  past,  when 
Church  and  guild  stood  patrons.  In  one 
sense  it  is  the  privilege  of  rich  men  to  af- 
ford such  opportunities;  in  another  sense, 
and  in  view  of  the  prominence  of  commer- 
cial interests  over  other  interests  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  still  hazy  relations 
of  Art  to  tangible  values,  it'is  entirely  cred- 
itable to  these  men,  who  could  have  easily 
contented  themselves  with  the  prestige  of 
having  obtained  foreign  works,  and  having 


125 


the  assurance  that  they  would  be  accepted 
unquestioning]}',  that  they  should  have 
risked  works  of  such  magnitude  to  Ameri- 
can decorators,  whose  spurs  as  decorators 
were  yet  to  be  won. 

Decorative  artists  being  thrown,  so  to 
speak,  on  their  own  resources,  there  have 
resulted  two  things :  The  first  and  most  im- 
portant has  been  a  certain  cachet  which  dis- 
tinguishes peculiarly  American  work,  but 
which  it.  is  too  soon  to  say  marks  an  Ameri- 
can school,  although  that  is  what  it  certain- 
ly will  result  in  if  the  influences  which  now 
guide  decorative  work  in  this  country  con- 
tinue. These  distinctions  amount  to  what 
may  almost  be  considered  as  the  outcome  of  a 
peculiar  theory  of  decoration.  This  includes 
both  certain  structural  uses  of  design  seen 
in  the  adaptation  of  natural  forms,  and  in 
the  development  of  certain  color  schemes. 

The  second  result  includes  new  processes, 
original  methods  of  arriving  at  certain 
effects,  a  wider  range  of  materials  used,  and 
what  might  be  termed  the  dynamic  forces  of 
decoration,  since  it  has  brought  about  new 
industries  dependent  on  the  prospects  and 
progress  of  decoration.  Under  this  head 
are  included  the  manufactures  of  art  stuffs, 
improvements  in  glass-making  and  mcth- 


126 


ods  of  using  glass,  new  combinations  of  met- 
als for  artistic  purposes.  Inventions  of  all 
kinds  have  followed  upon  one  another,  pro- 
tected alike  by  the  seal  of  the  United  States, 
some  valueless,  others  important.  These 
give  rise  to  commercial  interests,  and  the 
effect  of  the  decorative  movement  here  must 
be  considered  in  this  light  as  well  as  on  its 
artistic  side. 

To  refer  again  to  the  artistic  distinctions 
which  may  be  said  to  characterize  deco- 
rative art  here  when  left  to  itself:  the  first 
arises  from  the  necessity  of  finding  motives 
to  hand.  Decorative  artists  have  been 
driven  to  nature  nine  times  out  of  ten, 
when,  if  the  conditions  had  been  reversed, 
the  proportions  would  have  been  as  certain- 
ly reversed.  Going  to  nature  is  always  fol- 
lowed by  an  allegiance  to  nature  that  the 
most  determined  theorist  on  the  subject  of 
conventional  decoration  cannot  shake  off 
when  he  finds  himself  badly  supported  on 
the  side  of  his  theories.  The  consequence 
is,  that  in  purely  American  work  the  boun- 
daries between  realism  and  conventionality 
are  far  less  rigidly  defined  than  elsewhere. 
This  tendency  towards  greater  realism  in 
decoration  is  a  tendency  which  it  is  easy  to 
recognize  might  easily  run  into  excess. 


Happily  it  exists  in  the  hands  of  men  whoso 
training  in  Art  is  not  only  of  long  date,  but 
after  severe  methods.  The  men  who  lead  in 
decorative  work  in  New  York,  and  with 
whose  labors  this  article  deals,  are  artists 
who  made  their  reputations  in  the  Fine 
Arts,  men  versed  in  the  literature  of  Art, 
and  whose  artistic  judgment  is  likely  to 
hold  them  in  check.  Among  these  men  may 
be  mentioned  John  La  Farge,  a  man  whose 
artistic  instincts  are  well  balanced  and  well 
trained  ;  who  has  explored  with  keen  intel- 
ligence the  various  fields  of  Art,  and  has 
studied  its  expression  among  different  na- 
tions and  in  different  ages.  Only  less  may 
be  said  of  Samuel  Colman,  Louis  Tiffany, 
Augustus  St.  Gandens,  and  others.  Men 
who  have  such  equipment  are  not  likely  to 
lose  their  restraint  when  they  follow  a  new 
bent.  On  the  contrary,  the  delicate  balance 
which  the  work  shows,  the  nice  artistic 
judgment  which  has  carried  suggestiveness 
so  far  forward,  yet  restrains  the  hand  be- 
fore it  encroaches  upon  the  boundaries  of 
the  picturesque,  are  its  distinguishing  pe- 
culiarities, and  warrant  the  hopes  that  may 
be  built  upon  it. 

The  most  important  outcome  of  the  inter- 
est in  Decorative   Art  here  has  been  the 


128 


work  in  glass.  Several  years  ago  Mr.  John 
La  Farge,  having  been  obliged  to  give  up 
painting  through  ill-  health,  turned  his  at- 
tention to  experiments  in  the  making  of 
glass.  From  this  beginning,  which  was  in 
a  feeble  way,  several  valuable  patents  have 
been  secured,  and  the  artistic  use  of  glass 
has  undergone  important  changes.  Mr.  La 
Farge's  first  patent  was  for  opalescent  glass. 
The  peculiar  jewel  -  like  qualities  of  this 
glass  render  it  as  valuable  by  night  as  by 
day.  When  thus  used  it  is  in  the  form  of 
jewels,  or  nuggets  of  glass  whose  angles 
throw  off  the  light.  This  quality  of  the 
glass  is  now  no  longer  confined  to  the  opal- 
escent glass,  but  is  possible  in  all  the  hues 
of  the  prism,  and  this  property  alone  has 
made  glass  available  in  a  number  of  ways 
before  unused. 

Mr.  La  Farge  has  introduced  still  moro 
improvements  in  the  working  of  glass.  One 
is  the  fusion  of  the  pieces,  rendering  leads 
unnecessary  ;  the  other  is  the  modelling  of 
forms  in  gLiss,  which  in  many  cases  produce 
effects  not  otherwise  attainable  except  by 
paint  or  plating  ;  both  of  these  have  arisen 
out  of  Mr.  La  Farge's  peculiar  feeling  in 
decoration.  A  sensitive  artist  must  control 
his  materials.  Art  in  its  best  sense  does  not 


129 


admit  of  compromises  until  all  means  are  ex- 
hausted. Of  all  media  glass  is  the  most  in- 
tractable, and  particularly  is  it  difficult  in 
the  sort  of  effects  Mr.  La  Furge  attempts. 
This  may  be  best  illustrated  by  the  win- 
dows he  has  just  completed  for  Mr.  Freder- 
ick Ames  of  Boston.  One  of  these  repre- 
sents some  stocks  of  hollyhocks  in  bloom 
in  front  of  a  sloping  bank,  a  bit  of  brown 
meadow  ami  blue  sky  beyond.  The  stalks 
and  flowers  are  as  perfectly  represented  in 
the  glass,  in  all  their  shifting  bits  of  color, 
as  might  be  done  in  a  painting,  and  the 
effect  is  that  of  the  work  of  the  brush.  It 
can  readily  be  imagined  how  impossible 
this  would  be  in  ordinary  glass  without  the 
use  of  paint ;  and  in  any  case  how  the  usual 
leading  would  interfere  with  the  unity  of 
the  design  when  the  effect  is  at  all  realistic 
and  picturesque.  This  has  been  met  by 
fusing  the  pieces  ;  .and  this  is  so  perfectly 
accomplished  that  no  trace  of  the  process  is 
seen.  The  other  windows  are  Japanese 
panels,  different  compositions  introducing 
peacocks  and  red  and  white  peonies.  These 
peonies  in  modelling  and  shading  vie  with 
the  most  exquisite  flower-painting,  and  in 
this  case  the  effect  is  reached  by  running 
the  molten  glass  in  forms  that  leave  the 


flower  in  intaglio,  and  the  transmission  of 
the  light  gives  the  changes  of  tint  which 
imitate  the  subtle  blending  of  nature. 
These  windows  may  be  taken  as  the  best 
exponents  of  Mr.  La  Farge's  color.  That  of 
the  Japanese  windows  is  full  and  rich  even 
to  gorgeousuess.  The  prevailing  tone  is 
blue,  a  deep,  glowing  blue,  which  is  the 
background  for  the  peacocks  with  their 
gleaming  dyes,  the  heavy  -  petaled  peonies, 
the  brown  rocks  and  silvery  moonlight 
stream  flowing  beneath.  These  are  but 
suggestions,  the  treatment,  as  has  been  in- 
timated, being  Japanese.  The  composition 
is  sufficiently  intelligible,  but  is  not  insisted 
on.  The  peacocks  are  fully  identified,  but 
they  exist  in  the  light  that  never  was  on 
sea  or  land.  But  the  charm  of  the  windows 
above  all  else  lies  in  the  poetry  and  mystery 
of  the  color — color  which,  as  does  all  that  is 
best  in  Art,  stimulates  and  feeds  the  imagi- 
nation. That  of  the  third  window  is  frank 
and  joyous.  The  hollyhocks  are  as  blithe 
as  a  summer's  day ;  the  landscape  is  by  no 
means  brought  out  with  the  same  truth  of 
detail  as  are  the  flowers,  but  it  is  so  power- 
ful as  a  suggestion  that  it  is  necessary  to 
pause  and  consider  before  being  aware  that 
this  is  the  case. 


1S1 


The  deduction  from  these  windows  is  that 
Mr.  La  Farge  as  a  colorist  is  poetic  and  ideal, 
but  that,  mysterious  or  frank,  his  coloring  is 
always  healthy.  He  is  less  afraid  of  color 
than  any  of  our  decorators.  He  uses  it  bold- 
ly, but  if  powerful  it  is  never  crude,  if  deli- 
cate  it  is  never  aifected,  if  mysterious  it  is 
not  morbid. 

Mr.  Tiffany,  on  the  contrary,  confines  his 
glass  to  conventional  decoration.  His  large 
window  in  the  Union  League  Club-house,  so 
unfortunately  placed,  is  much  less  interest- 
ing iu  color  than  in  design.  This  is  ingen- 
iously made  not  to  appear  at  once,  but  in 
time  is  revealed.  A  vein  of  ingenuity  runs 
through  the  greater  part  of  his  decoration, 
and  excites  attention  distinct  from  that  of 
its  decorative  intent.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  his  use  of  materials,  as  he  disdains 
nothing  that  can  contribute  to  the  effect. 
To  return  to  the  glass,  there  is  a  smaller 
window  in  the  Union  League  Club-house 
which  contains  some  beautiful  color,  but  not 
as  part  of  a  general  color-scheme.  His  last 
most  important  work  has  been  a  large  screen 
across  the  corridor  of  the  White  House  at 
Washington.  In  this  the  national  emblems, 
which  we  admit  neither  in  color  nor  form 
are  well  adapted  for  decorative  purposes, 


have  been  made  to  take  a  prominent  part, 
and  their  inherent  difficulties  to  skilfully 
harmonize  with  his  scheme.  The  color  of 
Mr.  Tiffany's  glass  is  restrained  in  tone,  and 
seems  to  he  used  rather  in  accordance  with 
some  decorative  theories  he  holds  than 
prompted  by  a  spontaneous  artistic  impulse. 
Almost  the  most  important  work  of  the 
year  has  been  that  done  in  wood.  I  refer 
to  the  dining-room  ceiling  of  Mr.  Cornelius 
Vanderbilt's  house  done  by  Mr.  LaFarge  and 
Mr.  Augustus  St.  Gaudens,  the  sculptor.  In 
magnificence,  if  not  in  extent,  this  parallels 
fifteenth -century  work  of  its  kind.  The 
room,  which  measures  forty-five  by  twenty- 
three  feet,  is  intended  as  well  for  a  picture- 
gallery.  The  only  horizontal  light  is  through 
a  conservatory  at  one  end.  The  chief  light 
comes  through  glass  panes  in  the  ceiling  in 
a  simple  design,  and  composed  chiefly  of 
opalescent  glass  set  with  colored  gems  and 
jewels.  The  ceiling  is  divided  into  twenty 
panels,  of  which  the  glass  fills  six.  The  re- 
maining panels  are  of  mahogany  set  in  oak, 
and  between  oak  beams  ornamented  with  a 
double  Greek  fret  pattern  in  mother-of-pearl. 
So  variously  are  these  panels  treated  that, 
with  the  exception  of  four,  each  requires 
separate  description.  These  four  panels  are 


133 


in  the  corners  of  the  room.  The  chief  orna- 
ment is  a  head  of  Apollo  as  the  sun-god, 
modelled  in  low  relief  and  cast  in  a  bronze 
composition  giving  dull  golden  tones.  Sur- 
rounding the  head  is  a  wreath  of  laurel  in 
relief,  whose  leaves  are  of  green  serpentine. 
On  either  side  are  doves  with  out-spread 
wings,  holding  ribbous,  and  these  are  all  in- 
laid with  mother-of-pearl.  Defining  the 
limits  of  the  panel  is  a  wreath  of  goldeu 
bronze  with  iridescent  tones,  and  this  is 
framed  in  an  egg-aud-tougue  moulding  of 
old  oak; 

Following  the  dimensions  of  the  room  on 
one  side  are  two  panels,  with  allegorical  de- 
signs of  the  Sun  and  Moon,  divided  into 
three  sections,  in  mediaeval  style,  with  small 
figures,  reproduced  in  metals  and  pearls. 
These  are  copied  from  an  old  ivory  carving, 
now  covering  the  Office  de  Lion  at  Sens, 
France,  and  have  been  enlarged  from  plaster 
casts  by  Mr.  St.  Gaudeus.  These  flank  a  cen- 
tral panel  in  front  of  the  chimney-piece,  in 
which  the  date  of  erection,  in  high  projecting 
ivory  Roman  numerals,  is  placed  above  an 
ornament  inlaid  in  pearl,  while  at  each  end  is 
a  wreath  in  green  serpentine  with  berries  of 
coral  a5d  ivory.  On  the  other  side  the  corre- 
sponding panel  has  clasped  hands  with  olive- 


brauches  surrounded  by  vine-leaves,  carved 
heads,  and  great  flowers  in  relief,  and  their 
cups  inlaid  with  pearl.  Flanking  this  are 
two  panels,  one  bearing  in  ivory  letters  the 
word  Hoapitalitas,  the  other  Amicitla,  each 
enclosed  between  wreaths  with  ivory  and 
coral  berries.  The  four  principal  panels, 
placed  in  pairs  at  the  ends,  are  the  figures 
of  Bacchus,  Ceres,  Pomona,  and  Actseon. 
These  figures  were  modelled  by  Mr.  St.  Gau- 
deus.  In  reproducing  these  in  the  panels, 
something  of  the  exquisite  feeling  and  vi- 
tality of  the  flesh  which  marks  Mr.  St.  Gau- 
deus's  work  is  lost.  But  the  poetic  concep- 
tion of  at  least  three  of  the  figures,  and  the 
graceful  composition,  make  them,  as  iso- 
lated pieces  of  sculpture,  among  the  most 
delightful  works  produced  even  by  Mr.  St. 
Gandens,  who  has  done  so  much  that  is  en- 
joyable. The  least  interesting  of  the  panels 
is  the  Ceres,  who  is  fully  draped,  holding  a 
basket  of  fruit. 

The  Bacchus  is  a  charming  type.  The 
figure  is  carved  in  low  relief  in  the  mahog- 
any, and  overlaid  with  creamy  Vienna  mar- 
ble, which  renders  the  flesh.  In  this  some- 
thing is  lost  of  the  delicate  modelling 
through  the  process,  which  is  difficult.  The 
mantle  is  left  in  the  mahogany,  which  tones 


135 


iu  beautifully  with  the  marble.  The  leafy 
crowu  and  foliage  is  a  dull  greenish  bronze 
composition,  and  the  cop  inlaid  with  mother- 
of-pearl.  All  these  various  materials,  boldly 
put  in  juxtaposition,  form  part  of  a  general 
color-scheme,  and  their  tints  are  chosen  with 
greatest  care :  this  has  involved  a  number 
of  methods  and  of  experiments  new  to  deco- 
ration here.  Metal  enters  largely  into  all 
these  panels,  and  each  composition  is  the 
result  of  a  special  alloy,  which  will  produce 
the  necessary  harmonizing  tint.  The  numer- 
ous tones  thus  secured,  and  the  memoranda 
in  this  way  obtaiued,  at  the  cost  of  much 
time,  labor,  and  expense,  will  doubtless  have 
its  own  value  iu  the  future.  At  present  it 
chiefly  indicates  under  what  difficulty  au 
artist  labors,  given  a  certain  quantity  of 
work  to  be  done  in  a  certain  time,  since  the 
American  householder  has  yet  to  learn  that 
Art  is  not  produced  by  mechanical  methods, 
and  with  the  swiftness  and  nntiringuess  of 
a  machine. 

The  obvious  difficulty  in  work  of  this 
kind,  uniting  so  many  tints  and  such  differ- 
ent textures,  is  the  prevision  necessary  to 
make  them  not  details  but  a  whole.  Even 
those  who  most  greatly  admired  the  work 
when  seen  iu  parts  felt  uncertain  of  tho 


136 


effect  when  these  were  brought  together.  It 
was  even  felt  that  some  treatment  of  the 
woods  might  be  necessary  to  harmonize  the 
panels.  But  the  ceiling  is  now  finished,  and 
it  is  gratifying  to  add  that  all  that  will  be 
necessary  to  perfect  its  unity  may  be  safely 
left  to  the  gentle  ministration  of  time. 

Remarkable  as  has  been  the  develop- 
ment in  other  branches  of  Decorative  Art, 
the  same  advance  is  not  so  visible  in  that 
which  comes  under  the  designation  of  the 
decoration  of  interiors.  We  are  a  receptive 
people;  any  new  idea  or  fashion  quickly 
gains  lodgment.  That  of  decoration  has 
spread  as  rapidly  as  one  of  our  own  forest 
fires.  The  demand  for  decorators  has,  there- 
fore, quickly  outstripped  the  supply  of  men 
competent  to  decorate. 

We  are  as  impatient  a  people  as  we  are 
receptive ;  and  the  result  is  we  shall  need, 
some  time  to  realize  and  to  endure  much 
that  has  been  hastily  done.  The  first  at- 
tempts naturally  have  been  to  reproduce 
well-known  foreign  styles.  To  a  certain 
point  this  taste  is  easily  gratified.  Every 
architect's  library,  however  scantily  equip- 
ped, supplies  him  with  sufficient  definitions 
of  forms  to  construct  an  epoch  if  necessary, 
and  one  that  cannot  be  disproven.  Greek, 


137 


Koman,  arid  Gothic,  Lonis  Quiiize,  Louis 
Quatorze,  Henri  Deux,  aud  Queen  Anne  are 
household  names. 

In  looking  over  a  book  of  these  modern 
interiors,  breathlessly  produced,  as  it  were, 
two  things  leave  their  strongest  impression 
— their  luxury,  and  their  want  of  repose. 
Money,  at  least,  has  not  failed.  The  best 
things  have  been  done  under  the  influence 
of  our  own  Colonial  styles,  the  best  in  the 
sense  of  greatest  simplicity,  and  in  that 
spirit  of  intelligence  which  surroundiugs 
may  be  made  to  express.  Nothiug  can  be 
truer  than  that  the  mere  repetition  of  forms 
assigned  to  this  or  that  period  is  meaning- 
less and  unsatisfying.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  of  all  our  interiors,  reproducing  the 
decoration  of  different  periods  or  peoples, 
the  most  successful  have  been  the  Moorish 
and  Japanese.  This  is  not  probably  because 
they  are  more  vital  or  truthful,  but  because 
they  are  so  foreign  to  us  that  the  mind 
makes  no  attempt  to  adjust  them  to  our 
surroundings.  We  live  in  them  as  in  strange 
lands,  delighted  with  their  beauty  and 
novelty,  and  unconscious  of  self. 

Such  are  the  Japanese  rooms  of  Mr.  W.  H. 
Vanderbilt,  of  New  York,  and  of  Dr.  E.  T. 
Williams,  of  Philadelphia.  The  walls  of 


13S 


Mr.  Vauderbilt's  room  are  framed  in  bamboo, 
and  made  the  home  of  curious  bronzes,  hand- 
somely carved  teak-wood,  and  celestial  por- 
celain. Dr.  Williams  has  a  Japanese  poem 
on  Spring  and  Fusiyama's  calm  beauty, 
above  Japanese  flower-panels  that  make  a 
panorama  of  loveliness  on  his  walls.  In- 
teresting and  pleasing  as  these  are,  they 
correspond  to  nothing  in  our  domestic  life, 
nor  do  we  demand  that  they  should. 

The  return  of  Mr.  Lockwood  de  Forest 
from  India  with  exquisite  wood  carvings 
copied  from  the  perforated  stone  tracery  of 
the  temples  of  Northern  India  built  under 
the  Mohammedan  conquest,  swinging  seats, 
and  curiously-wrought  chairs  and  lanterns, 
gave  great  impetus  to  Moorish  interiors, 
since  much  was  ready  to  hand,  and  Japanese 
work  was  no  longer  in  its  first  novelty. 

All  rooms  of  this  kind  make  the  strongest 
impression  at  first,  and  the  strength  and 
weakness  of  its  gradations  are  a  matter  of 
individual  temperament.  This  is  not  so 
with  the  work  done  under  the  influence  of 
these  styles,  or  rather  when  they  have  fur- 
nished the  suggestion,  and  the  decoration 
has  worked  itself  out,  trusting  to  a  certain 
feeling  rather  than  to  the  unequivocal  utter- 
ance of  forms.  In  the  house  of  Mr.  George 


139 


H.  Kemp,  one  of  the  most  interesting  houses 
in  New  York  City,  a  painting  by  Pasiui  is 
the  salient  point  in  the  walls  from  which 
the  decoration  proceeds,  Arabian  and  Per- 
sian in  character,  but  one  which  excites  no 
anxiety  as  to  consistency,  and  in  which 
varied  objects  claim  attention,  while,  the 
general  impression  is  not  so  much  dependent 
on  sight  as  on  feeling — a  much  easier  way 
of  getting  in  sympathy  with  one's  sur- 
roundings. 

In  Mr.  Louis  Tiffany's  library,  the  details 
freely  suggest  the  influence  of  Japanese  and 
Moorish  art,  without  insisting  on  adherence 
to  the  conventional  signs  of  either.  The 
walls  are  panelled  in  tea-chest  wrapping. 
This  is  painted  in  yellows  and  browns,  the 
design  being  leaves  and  flowers  drawn  with 
the  freedom  and  naturalness  which  mark 
Japanese  work.  Occasionally,  in  place  of  a 
panel  of  the  tea-chest  wrapping,  a  picture 
painted  as  a  panel  and  in  harmony  with  the 
surroundings  has  been  inserted.  The  wide 
doorway  between  the  library  and  dining- 
room  has  a  band  of  carved  wood  above  it. 
The  carving  is  perforated  and  the  design 
left,  the  leaves  and  flowers  of  which  appear 
to  carry  out  the  design  on  the  matting  that 
takes  the  place  of  a  frieze.  The  effect  is 


novel   aud   delightful,  aud  the   details  in 
themselves  interesting. 

A  corner  of  the  diuing-roora  on  the  other 
side  of  the  door  discloses  the  same  freedom 
of  treatment.  The  walls  are  panelled  to  the 
height  of  the  mantel,  and  mouldings  mark  a 
division  which  holds  rare  china  and  cups. 
Above  this  is  suspended  from  small  hooks 
an  embroidered  blue  baud,  and  a  band  of 
the  same  description  makes  the  frieze.  The 
walls  are  covered  with  a  Japanese  paper  the 
grouud  of  which  is  yellow,  and  the  ceiling 
continues  the  wall  tints  in  a  yellow  paper 
sprinkled  with  blue  and  glistening  with 
mica.  The  prominent  feature  of  this  room 
is  the  decoration  over  the  mantel.  The 
turkey-cock  among  the  pumpkins  and  corn 
is  thoroughly  American  ;  and  the  decorative 
features,  the  striking  forms  and  rich  color 
of  material  so  exclusively  our  own,  Mr. 
Tiffany  was  the  first  to  appreciate.  What 
should  be  especially  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  these  rooms  is  that  the  materials 
in  every  case  are  inexpensive,  and  the  panels 
are  of  the  matting  of  tea-chests,  the  em- 
broidered band  and  frieze  of  the  dining- 
room  of  a  blue  material  called  "  denim  "  in 
thia  country,  aud  used  chiefly  in  the  manu- 
facture of  workmen's  "  overalls."  The  value 


HI 


of  the  decoration  lies  in  its  harmony  of 
color,  its  composition,  so  to  speak,  and  in 
the  spontaneity  of  its  ornamental  forms. 
This  is  noteworthy,  since  it  is  not  char- 
acteristic of  the  artistic  homes  which  are 
springing  up  on  every  side. 

The  frieze  in  the  dining-room  of  Mr. 
George  Kemp  makes  lavish  use  of  American 
products.  The  foundation  is  gilded  hurlap. 
Boughs  of  ripe  apples,  peaches,  and  pears, 
tangled  vines  with  clusters  of  purple  grapes, 
make  a  gorgeous  scheme  of  color  on  the 
walls,  and  yellow  pumpkins  and  corn  are 
given  a  place  on  the  panel  ahove  the  huffet. 

The  library  of  Mr.  Clarence  H.  Clark,  of 
Philadelphia,  has  a  notable  frieze  in  a  series 
of  panels  of  stained  glass  in  Japanese  de- 
signs that  also  serve  to  light  the  room.  Mr. 
Beun  Pitman,  of  Cincinnati,  has  lighted  his 
dining-room  in  the  same  way,  there  being 
no  side  windows.  This  dining-room  is  a 
model  of  ingenuity,  and  contains  some  sig- 
nificant artistic  features.  It  is  an  interior 
room,  and  too  small  to  allow  for  the  ordinary 
furniture  of  a  dining-room.  Accordingly  the 
buffets  are  supplied  by  two  sets  of  hanging 
shelves,  one  for  silver  and  one  for  china. 
These  are  enriched  by  the  most  exquisite 
carving,  and  when  filled  with  their  wares 


perform  the  same  service  as  might  a  picture 
or  other  ornament  to  the  walls. 

As  yet  but  little  has  been  done  as  regards 
mural  decoration  iu  a  large  way.  We  at 
one  time  had  a  season  of  Italian  frescos, 
but  these  we  are  glad  to  forget.  Kecently 
Mr.  W.  H.  Vauderbilt  has  introduced  in  his 
new  home  a  ceiling  by  Gallaud,  and  Mr.  W. 
K.  Vauderbilt  a  ceiling  by  Baudry.  Of 
equal  importance  with  these  is  the  ceiling 
by  Mr.  John  La  Farge  for  Mr.  Cornelius 
Vauderbilt.  The  room  itself  is  worth  some 
description.  It,  in  fact,  is  a  corridor  lead- 
ing from  the  diuiug-room  to  the  Moorish 
smoking-room  to  which  allusion  has  beeu 
made.  The  architecture  is  Italian,  taken 
from  Vignola,  and  consists  of  a  central 
vault  and  two  arcades. 

In  the  large  central  vault  is  a  long  panel 
of  staiued  glass,  which  is  quite  light,  siuce 
its  object  is  the  display  of  the  drawings. 
Where  the  two  arches  of  the  end  meet  the 
walls  are  two  large  semicircles  filled  with 
paintings.  In  one  is  represented  Venus  in 
a  boat  drawn  through  the  sedgy  water  by 
Loves,  steering  and  pulling  with  mimic 
strength.  On  the  other  is  an  allegorical 
representation  of  Dawn,  drawn  in  her 
chariot  by  two  prancing  horses,  with  Loves 


143 


running  at  her  side.  The  architectural  di- 
visions of  the  central  vault  are  four  T-pau- 
els,  and  four  F-pauels  where  they  meet  the 
end  walls.  These  panels  contain  paintings 
illustrating  the  Seasons  and  four  of  the 
Senses.  This  series  of  lovely  types  is  as 
unhackneyed  as  it  is  charming,  and  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  is  "  Smell."  In  action 
the  figure  is  not  unlike  the  "  Pomona "  of 
the  dining-room  ceiling,  which  has  been  de- 
scribed before.  The  girl  has  the  same  at- 
titude, but  instead  of  the  knife  and  the 
fruity  boughs,  she  draws  towards  herself  a 
blossoming  vine,  which,  sweeping  across  the 
body,  makes  its  only  drapery.  The  names 
given  to  these  figures,  it  will  be  seen,  afford 
simply  the  most  conventional  handles.  The 
most  of  the  work  was  done  under  Mr.  La 
Farge,  but  this  nude  figure  is  the  work  of 
the  master  himself,  and  in  subtle  modelling, 
in  the  rendering  of  flesh  with  sensuousness, 
yet  with  delicacy  and  mystery,  and  in  color, 
he  has  done  nothing  finer. 

Work  of  this  sort  belongs  to  the  highest 
class  of  decorative  art.  In  a  country  com- 
paratively new  as  ours  it  requires  not  only 
men  of  wealth,  but  those  who  have  the 
public  spirit,  to  use  one  of  our  current 
phrases,  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 


144 


country.  Artists  of  their  own  motion  can- 
not attempt  works  of  such  magnitude,  and 
thus  far  there  has  not  been  an  irresistible 
pressure  urging  them  to  forsake  their  ac- 
customed modest  canvases. 

Still  something  has  been  done.  Mr.  Ed- 
win H.  Blashfield  is  now  painting  a  centre 
and  two  large  side  panels  for  the  new  house 
of  Mr.  Twombly.  The  design  is  pleasing  in 
composition  and  agreeable  in  color.  The 
"  Dawn,"  which  is  the  subject  of  the  centre, 
is  a  female  figure  borne  through  the  sky  by 
a  clustering  group  of  figures.  In  one  of  the 
side  panels  is  a  floating  figure  emptying 
from  her  draperies  flowers  as  the  emblem  of 
good  gifts.  That  of  the  other  is  a  spirited 
female  figure  with  helmet  and  shield,  chas- 
ing away  brownies,  as  we  may  call  the 
sombre  -  bued  imps  which  symbolize  bad 
dreams.  Neither  the  conception  nor  the 
composition  belong  in  any  way  to  this 
country,  except  as  the  work  is  done  here 
and  by  an  American  artist.  Mr.  Blash- 
field's  work  is  always  worthy  of  attention, 
but  he  has  done  other  things  which  are 
much  more  individual,  and  consequently 
more  interesting. 

Mr.  Blashfield's  management  of  color  is 
peculiar  to  himself,  and  expresses  sentiment 


as  color  in  the  bauds  of  but  few  artists  is 
made  to  do.  At  least,  if  tbe  range  of  ex- 
pression is  not  greater,  he  plays  upon  many 
more  keys.  One  of  bis  most  successful 
works  is  a  decorative  panel,  "  Autumn."  A 
dark-haired  woman,  past  her  youth,  sits  in 
the  niche  of  a  stone  slab,  watching  the 
birds  flit  by.  There  is  none  of  the  melan- 
choly of  meditation  in  her  attitude;  but 
that  is  the  sentiment  of  the  work,  as  well  as 
of  richness  and  maturity  which  her  draper- 
ies convey  in  dun  yellows  and  reds,  carry- 
ing out  the  tints  of  the  leaves  at  her  feet. 
I  know  of  nothing  better  managed  than 
these  draperies,  in  which  the  edges,  in  a 
manner  that  eludes  analysis,  convey  the 
feeling  of  the  leaf  that  has  felt  the  touch  of 
early  frost.  In  this  work  there  is  distinctly 
a  new  feeling,  and  one  which  carries  with  it 
the  element  of  promise. 

Mr.  Francis  H.  Lathrop  has  done  a  good 
deal  of  decorative  work,  which  is  always  to 
be  recognized  by  certain  low-toned  yellows 
and  reddish -browns.  Mr.  Lathrop  is  the 
author  of  the  decoration  over  the  prosce- 
nium arch  of  the  new  Metropolitan  Opera- 
house,  "  Apollo  crowned  by  tbe  Muses." 

Apart  from  the  inevitable  tendency  of 
decorative  work  in  this  country  towards 
10 


originality  arising  out  of  enforced  condi- 
tions, there  have  been  several  definite  at- 
tempts towards  that  end  from  theoretical 
conviction  that  this  was  in  itself  desirable. 
At  the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1876,  in  the  exhibit  of  the  Woman's 
Pavilion,  there  was  a  display  of  carved  wood 
from  Cireucester  which  attracted  much  at- 
tention, not  only  because  it  was  the  work 
of  women,  and  of  women  of  wealth  and  leis- 
ure, but  from  its  intrinsic  excellence  both 
in  workmanship  and  design.  As  mention- 
ed in  au  earlier  paragraph,  the  interest  in 
•wood-carving  in  Cincinnati  is  first  due  to 
William  and  Henry  Fry,  father  and  sou,  Eng- 
lishmen, both  of  whom,  before  emigration, 
worked  on  the  House  of  Commons.  Through 
Mr.  Benu  Pitman,  the  stenographer,  also  an 
Englishman,  who  studied  with  the  Frys, 
wood-carving  became  very  popular.  At  this 
time  the  large  Music  Hall  of  Cincinnati  was 
building,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  pride  among 
the  women  of  that  city  to  assist  in  the  carv- 
ing of  the  great  organ,  which  is,  in  fact,  one 
of  the  finest  results  of  wood-carving  in  this 
country. 

Mr.  Pitman,  a  man  of  keen  artistic  tem- 
perament, and  one  capable  of  kindling  his 
enthusiasms  in  others,  was  placed  at  the 


H7 


head  of  the  Cincinnati  School  of  Design,  and 
wood-carving  became  speedily  its  great  feat- 
ure. At  the  outset  a  sort  of  creed  was 
adopted,  one  of  the  principal  articles  of 
which  was  "a  reverent  and  faithful  inter- 
pretation of  nature's  forms,  and  their  adap- 
tation to  the  needs  and  necessities  of  to- 
day." There  is  a  religious  as  well  as  poetic 
element  in  Mr.  Pitman's  Art  theories.  The 
ethics  of  his  work  and  teaching  rest  on 
beauty  and  sincerity.  The  grotesque  forms 
of  the  Renaissance  he  does  not  admit,  and 
for  reasons  which  to  many  people  might 
seem  transcendental,  he  restricts  his  pupils 
to  floral  ornament.  Any  one  at  all  familiar 
with  the  flora  of  the  Ohio  Valley  will  recog- 
nize how  literally  Mr.  Pitman  has  drawn 
upon  it  in  his  search  for  new  forms,  and 
how  fruitful  it  has  been. 

The  tendency  towards  realism  in  Ameri- 
can work  has  been  alluded  to  before,  and  it 
is  especially  remarkable  in  wood  -  carving. 
In  a  cherry-wood  base-board  the  ornament 
is  taken  from  the  flower  and  leaf  of  a  weed 
familiarly  known  here  as  the  Jimson.  It 
has  a  prickly  leaf  and  a  long  tube-shaped 
flower  of  a  bluish  -  white  color.  It  has  so 
execrable  an  odor  that  no  one  attached  to  it 
possibilities  of  any  description  until  Mr.  Pit- 


148 


man,  whose  eye  is  alert  to  discover  hidden 
beauties,  made  use  of  it.  The  decoration  is 
effective,  because  as  an  ornament,  the  posi- 
tion of  which  forbids  relief,  it  has  still  the 
merit  of  being  clearly  distinguished. 

The  white  oleander  and  the  swamp-rose 
have  also  both  been  utilized  in  rosettes.  On 
a  certain  sitting-room  door  the  swamp-rose 
and  Maximilian  daisy  which  ornament  the 
casings  also  furnish  motives  for  the  rosettes 
iu  the  diagonals  of  the  lower  panels.  The 
treatment  of  this  door  corresponds  to  the 
base,  shaft,  and  capitals  of  a  pillar.  The 
lower  panels  are  incised  work  where  injury 
might  result  from  contact  with  other  things. 
The  upper  panels  are  ornamented  at  least 
two  inches  in  relief  with  the  buckeye.  No 
description  can  suggest  the  value  of  the 
buckeye  as  an  ornament.  Its  luxuriance  in 
that  part  of  the  country  gives  to  Ohio  the 
name  of  the  Buckeye  State.  It  is  not  only 
good  in  form,  but  its  texture,  and  its  highly- 
polished  nut,  half  enclosed  iu  its  rough  shell, 
offer  rare  opportunities  to  the  wood-carver, 
and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not 
form  as  fruitful  a  source  of  ornament  as  the 
oak  or  laurel. 

There  is  a  bedstead,  the  decoration  of 
which  is  conceived  in  a  spirit  of  poetic  sym- 


149 


bolism  that  I  will  not  attempt  to  set  down. 
Geranium  leaves  form  the  lower  borders. 
The  upper  panels  are  crowded  with  daisies, 
and  these  are  again  found  in  the  double 
rosettes.  On  the  side  panels  are  the  white 
azalea  and  the  balloon-vine.  Underneath  the 
flight  of  swallows  and  the  effect  of  sky  is  a 
luxurious  branch  of  snowballs,  carved  with 
great  feeling  and  delicacy,  while  below  are 
the  spiky  rays  of  the  paliueris.  I  give  the 
common  and  accepted  names  of  the  flowers 
in  this  country,  which,  if  called  by  different 
names  in  England,  will  be  as  readily  recog- 
nized by  their  forms.  The  sides  of  a  certain 
dining-room  door  exhibit  the  flowering  stock 
of  day  lilies  and  the  graceful  hemp.  The 
capitals  give  a  single  leaf  of  the  wild-par- 
snip. A  better  example,  however,  of  the 
capabilities  of  the  wild-parsnip  is  seen  on 
the  frames  of  the  panels.  The  wild-parsnip 
has  been  one  of  the  most  successful  of  Mr. 
Pitman's  new  forms,  and  with  this  may  bo 
mentioned  the  succory  plant  and  the  bur- 
dock, both  of  which  have  been  successfully 
utilized.  On  a  mahogany  bookcase,  the  me- 
chanical construction  of  which  for  the  many 
services  of  a  library  would  be  interesting, 
the  different  varieties  of  fern  are  rendered. 
There  is  something  more  than  carving  and 


150 


designing  in  all  this  work.  To  achieve  the 
end  desired,  it  must  be  rendered  with  feeliug 
aud  sentiment.  There  is  a  distinctive  value 
set  on  individual  work,  so  far  as  it  is  the 
outcome  of  personal  feeling  guided  by  intel- 
ligence and  sound  artistic  training. 

Something  should  be  said  of  the  work  in 
pottery  in  Cincinnati,  which  corresponds  to 
that  in  wood,  inasmuch  as  it  was  an  inde- 
pendent effort,  and  prosecuted  at  first  by 
women  of  leisure.  Miss  Louise  MacLough- 
liu's  experiments  in  barbotine  attracted  at- 
tention in  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1876,  but 
the  outcome  has  been  innch  more  important 
than  this  tentative  work  in  Limoges  ware. 
For  it  led  to  experiments  in  Ohio  clays  with 
admirable  results.  The  Eookwood  Pottery, 
established  by  Mrs.  George  Ward  Nichols 
(the  daughter  of  Mr.  Joseph  Longworth,  re- 
cently dead,  a  man  whose  encouragement  of 
the  Arts  has  been  of  the  most  substantial 
kind),  has  done  good  service  in  the  produc- 
tion of  a  cream-bodied  ware  known  as  the 
Kookwood  ware.  In  this  an  attempt  has 
been  successfully  made  to  give  to  ordinary 
household  utensils  better  forms. 

At  the  recent  loan  exhibition  for  the  Bar- 
tholdi  Pedestal  Fund,  there  was  the  best 
exhibition  of  Ohio  pottery  yet  shown.  This 


151 


is  true  in  respect  not  only  to  the  quality  of 
the  ware,  but  to  color  .and  ornament.  Most 
of  the  woi'k  shown  by  us  has  been  either  ail 
attempt  to  imitate  some  special  ware,  or  to 
assert  originality  iu  some  bizarre,  undigested 
fashion.  This  ware  not  only  was  special  iu 
texture  and  body,  but  independent  and  orig- 
inal iu  decoration.  It  is  a  translucent  cream- 
bodied  ware,  in  which  the  ground  had  the 
effect  of  hammered  silver,  except,  of  course, 
in  color.  The  decoration  iu  every  case  was 
extremely  delicate,  gold  being  lavishly  used. 
One  of  the  most  striking  pieces  was  a  large 
jar,  crossed  by  ornamental  diagonals  of  gold, 
with  a  decoration  in  which  trees  and  deer 
were  introduced,  but  the  general  effect  of 
which  can  be  best  compared  to  sunlight 
seen  through  mist  or  fine  snow.  Another 
smaller  bowl-shaped  vase  had  a  single  spray 
of  wild  rose,  drawn  evidently  from  nature, 
for  selection  only  is  necessary  in  going  to 
the  fountain-head  for  suitable  forms.  The 
relation  between  the  foliage  and  the  tint  of 
the  flower  and  the  thin  cream  body  of  the 
ware  showed  the  happiest  feeling  for  deli- 
cate color. 

Very  significant  of  the  growth  of  true  Art 
feeling  has  been  the  interest  taken  by  man- 
ufacturers and  the  stimulus  given  by  them, 


152 


Warren,  Fuller  &  Co.,  prominent  wall-paper 
manufacturers,  instituted  a  competition  two 
years  ago  which  has  indirectly  brought  out 
some  noteworthy  results.  Out  of  at  least 
fifty  designs  submitted  by  both  American 
and  foreign  professional  designers  of  wall- 
paper, the  three  prizes  were  taken  by  women 
whose  artistic  studies  had  been  in  an  en- 
tirely different  direction.  Although  tech- 
nically the  work  was  crude,  it  was  distin- 
guished by  two  things :  originality  in  design, 
and  new  color  schemes.  In  the  design  which 
took  the  first  prize  of  £1000,  that  of  Miss 
Constance  Wheeler,  one  is  reminded  of  Jap- 
anese work,  but  not  in  its  composition  nor 
its  coloring,  nor  in  the  theory  of  decoration 
it  implies.  The  resemblance  lies  in  the  free- 
dom and  boldness  of  its  drawing,  the  perfect 
familiarity  it  shows  with  natural  forms.  The 
design  is  a  silver  honeycomb  over  a  faint 
yellow-pink  ground,  dashed  here  and  there 
with  gold.  The  surface  is  broken  by  clover 
wreaths,  which  form  disks,  the  centre  being 
filled  in  with  slightly  varying  tints,  and  by 
bees.  These  two  motives  are  repeated  in 
the  dado  and  frieze,  the  disks  in  the  dado 
suggesting  straw  hives.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  keep  the  decoration  flat.  The 
bees  are  drawn  in  perspective,  and  the  clover 


153 


shows  all  the  waywardness  of  the  natural 
growth ;  and  yet  the  decoration  is  so  well 
balanced  that  the  feeling  of  the  freshness 
and  nearness  has  a  charm  that  no  one  would 
associate  with  picturesqneness,  and  certainly 
proves  not  incompatible  with  decoration. 
In  reproducing  this  paper,  which  has  been 
done  in  various  tints,  it  has  undergone  some 
changes,  which  naturally  result  when  artis- 
tic treatment  must  succumb  to  commercial 
necessities.  This  has  also  been  the  case  in 
the  second  prize  design  by  Miss  Ida  F.  Clark. 
The  field  consisted  of  waving  silver  water 
lines  over  a  pale  greenish  ground.  Under- 
neath were  the  dim  forms  offish  with  gleam- 
ing scales  of  silver  and  gold.  Sea  -  weed 
formed  the  dado,  and  shells  were  ingeniously 
disposed  in  the  frieze.  In  describing  the 
designs  of  both  these  papers,  they  seem  to 
insist  too  much  to  serve  the  proper  uses  of  a 
wall-paper.  But  this  was  happily  obviated 
in  the  color  schemes  which  carefully  avoided 
contrasts,  making  use  only  of  small  intervals 
of  color. 

Mr.  Louis  Tiffany  has  given  some  atten- 
tion to  wall-papers.  A  very  exquisite  de- 
sign is  that  taken  from  the  filmy  wild  cle- 
matis and  the  cobweb.  The  cobweb  is  in 
silver  over  a  creamy  yellow  ground,  and  the 


151 


clematis  iu  gold.  Insects  iu  metallic  tints, 
and  here  and  there  dashes  of  metallic  colors, 
give  further  variety  of  tint.  Another  strik- 
ing paper  by  Mr.  Tiffany  has  the  ground 
covered  with  a  vine -like  pattern,  and  ap- 
parently caught  in  it  are  sprays  of  fruit 
blossoms  and  puny  willows  drawn  directly 
from  nature.  Such  work  as  this  ventures 
on  dangerous  ground,  and  can  only  be  con- 
trolled by  wise  artistic  restraint.  When 
successful,  as  this  paper  is,  it  has  great  fresh- 
ness and  is  charmingly  na'ive.  In  a  way,  it 
suggests  Japanese  effects,  and  yet  it  cannot 
recall  anything  similar  in  Japanese  work. 

Mr.  Samuel  Colman  has  designed  several 
papers,  in  which  the  maple  and  the  hortey- 
suckle  serve  as  motives  for  all-over  patterns. 

Ou  the  part  of  manufacturers  nothing  lias 
been  spared  for  the  encouragement  of  wall- 
paper designing,  each  of  the  above  designs 
having  been  reproduced  with  all  the  skill 
and  mechanical  perfection  at  their  command. 

Out  of  this  there  has  arisen  some  discus- 
sion concerning  the  value  of  artistic  training 
preparatory  to  the  technical  requirements  of 
wall-paper  and  carpet  designing.  This  is 
directly  opposed  to  the  methods  followed  in 
the  designing-rooms,  by  which  the  color-boy 
is  advanced,  if  he  chooses  to  follow  his  trade. 


155 


until  he  arrives  at  the  position  of  designer. 
His  artistic  intelligence  follows  the  lend  of 
his  handiwork,  and  his  progress,  unless  he 
is  exceptional,  is  along  the  beaten  track.  I 
can  only  speak  of  American  designing-rooms. 
Here,  at  least,  this  is  the  usual  system,  and 
manufacturers  unable  to  procure  creditable 
designs  at  home,  continue  to  draw  upon  for- 
eign resources  for  the  greater  part  of  their 
work. 

In  accordance  with  the  first  theory — a 
special  Art  education  towards  the  specific 
ends  of  wall-paper  and  carpet  designing — 
several  schools  have  been  established,  and 
are  filled  with  Art  students,  chiefly  women. 
The  course,  extending  over  two  years,  begins 
with  the  elements  of  drawing,  and  proceeds 
through  the  copying  of  natural  forms,  their 
analysis,  the  conventionalizing  of  leaves  and 
flowers  ill  detail,  problems  in  design,  com- 
bining geometrical  and  natural  forms,  and 
exercises  of  such  nature.  These  are  accom- 
panied  by  the  study  of  the  literature  of  dec- 
orative art,  the  study  of  styles,  the  copying 
of  historic  ornament,  and  the  curriculum 
concludes  with  the  adaptation  of  designs  to 
the  limitation  of  the  block  and  loom. 

The  most  practical  of  these  schools  is  pre- 
sided over  by  Mrs.  Florence  E.  Cory,  who,  in 


her  efforts  to  master  the  details  of  carpet  de- 
signing, eiilisted  the  co-operation  of  several 
manufacturers,  and  against  the  unwritten 
laws  of  the  designing-room,  which  rigorous- 
ly exclude  women,  she  was  permitted  to  en- 
ter them,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  study  de- 
sign with  reference  to  the  limitations  of  the 
machinery.  For  some  time  she  has  furnished 
designs  to  manufacturers,  and  in  her  school 
a  Jacquard  loom  is  one  of  the  principal  ob- 
jects, and  the  practical  submission  of  designs 
to  its  requirements  is  the  final  work  of  her 
students. 

Generous  interest  has  been  taken  in  the 
project  by  manufacturers,  who,  at  stated 
times,  have  invited  the  school  to  visit  their 
factories,  and  have  encouraged  it  by  the  pur- 
chase of  designs.  It  is  too  soon  to  deter- 
mine the  result  of  the  experiment,  at  least 
so  far  as  it  can  be  depended  on  for  original 
ideas  and  justifying  its  intention  to  keep  out 
of  beaten  paths. 

Mr.  Charles  G.  Leland,  who  is  not  unknown 
in  England,  has  created  a  great  deal  of  in- 
terest in  industrial  Art  in  Philadelphia,  and 
in  a  series  of  manuals  containing  technical 
instruction  as  well  as  explaining  his  own 
theories  of  design,  has  done  good  service 
throughout  the  country. 


157 


The  place  of  color  in  American  work  is 
as  distinct  as  that  of  design.  Again  we  are 
thrown  on  ourselves,  since  the  causes  that 
have  produced  that  range  of  colors  which 
we  identify  with  the  revival  of  decoration 
in  England,  under  the  somewhat  paradox- 
ical term  antique  tints,  do  not  exist  here. 
The  influence  of  English  color  has  been 
great  in  this  country  in  decorative  work, 
and  it  has  been  especially  imitated  by  man- 
ufacturers. It  is  not,  however,  to  be  ob- 
served in  distinctively  American  decorative 
work.  In  the  first  place  we  can  only  have 
it  by  copying  it  from  English  decorative 
art,  since  we  have  not  the  sources  from 
which  to  feel  its  beauty  and  get  its  inspira- 
tion ;  and  color  filtered  at  second  hand,  it 
must  be  conceded,  is  apt  to  lose  its  charm. 
A  striking  example  of  this  was  seen  in  the 
two  companies  giving  "Patience"  here  at 
the  same  time  in  New  York.  The  Gilbert 
and  Sullivan  Company  was  costumed  in 
tints  sent  out  from  London,  selected  for 
the  purpose  by  William  Morris.  These  the 
American  company  attempted  to  copy  ;  but 
in  doing  it,  the  precision  of  tint  being 
missed  all  through,  the  stage  effect  lost  half 
its  beauty.  American  color  has  its  own 
sign-manual  because  it  cannot  escape  from 


158 


it.  The  American  artist  is  the  tempera- 
mental product  of  a  new  and  comparatively 
isolated  country.  From  the  result  of  those 
conditions  which  create  in  the  American  in 
general  certain  distinctive  features  that 
other  peoples  recognize,  the  artist  escapes 
no  more  than  another  man.  There  are  nerv- 
ous qualities  in  our  atmosphere  of  which 
no  one  is  more  quickly  conscious  than  the 
foreigner  who  comes  here.  It  is  said  that 
there  are  more  bright  days  in  New  York 
City  iu  a  year  than  in  any  other  city  within 
the  temperate  zone.  It  is  no  more  improb- 
able that  these  two  influences,  for  example, 
make  themselves  felt  in  the  colors  of  an  art- 
ist's palette,  than  that  they  are  manifested  in 
any  other  way.  That  they  are  accountable 
for  the  crudity  which  is  painfully  felt  in 
much  native  color  is  equally  probable;  and 
that  there  is  much  of  this  that  is  raw  and 
jarring  may  be  readily  admitted.  But 
against  those  artists  whose  work  is  power- 
ful enough  to  constitute  the  formative  in- 
fluences at  pre^ut  chiefly  felt,  the  charge  of 
crudity  cannot  be  brought. 

This  color  rests,  as  does  form,  on  the  di- 
rect suggestions  of  Nature.  I  have  been  in- 
terested iu  studying  the  development  of  col- 
or-schemes in  a  number  of  different  works. 


159 


It  is  not  probable  that  these  are  the  result 
of  analysis  of  definite  purpose  on  the  part 
of  the  artists.  Those  who  create  clo  not  an- 
alyze ;  feeling  leads  them  in  certain  direc- 
tions, and  the  generalization  from  these  is 
the  work  of  others.  If  it  could  be  put  in 
concise  terms,  American  color  might  be  said 
to  be  the  expression  of  the  value  of  the 
small  interval.  To  better  illustrate  this  a 
portiere  by  Mrs.  Candace  Wheeler  may  be 
taken  as  an  instance.  The  design  is  a  mass 
of  roses  with  foliage  embroidered  on  a  light 
yellow  gronnd.  The  deep  red  of  the  roses, 
the  olives  and  browns  of  the  foliage  rising 
out  of  the  vase  form  the  starting  point. 
The  color  then  lightens,  yellow  mingles  with 
the  red,  the  roses  have  taken  in  more  of  the 
sunlight,  the  foliage  casts  aside  its  olives 
and  browns  for  redder  and  yellower  tones. 
In  this  way,  by  imperceptible  gradations, 
the  mass  rises  through  yellow-pinks  into 
yellows  and  yellow-greens,  and  finally  sinks 
in  pale  yellow  buds  and  tender  leaves  into 
the  tint  of  the  background.  Now  through 
all  these  undulations  each  detail  shows  some 
one  of  the  varied  phases  of  nature,  some  new 
combination  of  tints  which  has  its  actual 
existence.  Yet  the  most  striking  feature  of 
the  whole  is  the  changing  splendor  of  tho 


color.  A  word  should  be  said  iu  connection 
with  the  composition  which  repeats  in  the 
same  way  the  inexhaustible  variety  of  the 
natural  growth  of  the  sense  of  depth  in  the 
mass  and  the  feeling  of  the  forms  behind. 

Probably  the  most  superb  piece  of  color 
and  most  magnificent  embroidery  yet  pro- 
duced is  a  curtain  made  by  Mr.  La  Farge 
and  Miss  Tillinghast  for  Mr.  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt.  This  repeats  the  story  of  ^Eneas's 
adventures  at  Carthage,  after  Raphael's  car- 
toons, as  arranged  by  Marc  Antonio  in  the 
Vatican.  These  are  iu  solid  embroidery,  in 
silk  and  gold,  on  linen  framed  iu  gold,  with 
the  legends  in  raised  gold  letters,  and  set 
about  an  oblong  centre-panel  of  cloth  and 
gold.  There  is  no  occasion  here  to  speak 
of  the  exquisite  needle-work,  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  drawing,  and  the  dramatic  action 
of  the  groups. 

The  color  is  subdued,  but  full  and  glow- 
ing ;  its  most  remarkable  feature,  however, 
results  from  the  way  in  which  the  dazzling 
sheen  of  the  cloth-of-gold  is  brought  into 
relation  with  embroidery.  This  is  done  by 
toning  down  the  gold  with  short  broken  lines 
of  color,  repeating  the  tints  of  embroidery, 
and  mingling  them  through  the  use  of  small 
intervals  rising  and  descending.  Words  can- 


161 


not  convey  an  idea  of  the  resplendence  of 
tbis  mass  of  tiuts,  through  which  the  gold  of 
the  ground  gleams,  and  iu  which  the  color 
does  riot  appear  to  exist,  but  rather  to  pal- 
pitate and  float  above  it. 

I  must  refer  iu  this  connection  to  the  use 
of  perspective,  which  is  unhesitatingly  made 
use  of  by  prominent  decorators,  as  seen  in  a 
curtain  after  a  design  by  Mr.  John  La  Farge, 
and  executed  under  Miss  Tillinghast  for 
Mrs.  John  Zerega  of  New  York.  This  at- 
tempts, in  applique  and  embroidery  of  the 
richest  stuffs,  to  define  the  features  of  a 
landscape.  The  aerial  perspective,  the  sense 
of  distance,  the  feeling  of  motion,  the  accu- 
racy of  the  forms  in  the  foreground  and 
their  relation  to  the  landscape  are  all  care- 
fully considered.  And  seen  as  it  is,  hung 
in  one  of  the  most  charming  drawing-rooms 
in  New  York,  its  decorative  aspect  is  most 
impressive. 

One  of  the  first  difficulties  that  the  As- 
sociated Artists  met  in  their  work  was  the 
inability  to  procure  proper  stuffs.  Before 
beginning  their  work,  Mr.  Tiffany  made  a  col- 
lection of  artistic  fabrics  in  Europe  and  the 
East,  but  these  were  soon  exhausted,  and 
space  and  time  both  intervened  before  they 
could  be  replaced,  since  iu  Art-work  the 
ll 


162 


right  thing  must  be  had.  Finding  American 
silk  manufacturers  willing  to  experiment, 
the  Associated  Artists  undertook  the  produc- 
tion of  their  own  stuffs  with  gratifying  re- 
sults. No  richer  fabrics  are  uow  produced 
in  any  country,  and  none  of  more  exquisite 
texture.  The  most  notable  outcome  of 
these  experiments — experiments  no  longer, 
since  the  association  not  only  supplies  its 
own  needs,  but  has  created  a  market  for  its 
stuffs  —  is  the  production  of  different  tones 
through  new  ways  of  using  the  shuttle.  One 
of  the  most  magnificent  of  these  new  stuffs 
has  been  christened  Gazonga,  or  Five  Aces, 
since  nothing  could  be  better ;  and  if  this  be 
regarded  as  peculiarly  American  nomencla- 
ture, to  the  initiated  it  is  certainly  very  ex- 
pressive. In  this  stuff  one  color  is  undershot 
in  a  single  thread,  the  upper  being  in  fila- 
ments, now  whole,  now  subdivided,  making 
an  irregular  twill.  The  effect  of  this  is  not 
the  mere  shifting  of  tints  such  as  one  sees 
in  changeable  silk,  but  also  the  union  of 
tints  in  different  proportions  as  they  are 
blended  by  the  play  of  light.  The  silk 
momie  cloths,  which  give  somewhat  the  same 
effects,  are  especially  delightful  in  texture, 
being  soft  as  an  Eastern  web. 

Another  interesting  fabric,  entirely  new, 


163 


is  tlie  tapestry  stuff,  adapted  for  the 
tapestry  stitch.  The  peculiarity  of  tlie  tap- 
estry stitch  is  that  it  passes  through  the 
meshes  of  the  warp,  and  the  decoration  thus 
becomes  part  of  the  web.  The  stitch  in 
this  way  allows  for  the  blending  of  colors 
in  the  same  way  that  they  can  be  obtained 
by  the  brush. 

Some  important  hangings  have  thus  been 
made  for  Mr.  Cornelius  Vauderbilt  by  Mrs. 
Candaco  Wheeler,  after  designs  by  Miss  Dora 
Wheeler.  There  are  eleven  panels  executed 
in  tapestry  stuff  showing  salmon-pink  tones 
which  serve  for  the  flesh  tints.  The  first  of 
these  is  the  Full  Moon,  personated  by  a 
beautiful  woman,  her  head  iu  a  disk  which 
her  wings  assist  to  describe,  the  atmospheric 
effect  about  her  making  another  disk,  and 
her  feet  touching  a  lily  pod  just  opening  in 
the  pond  beneath,  while  behind  her  are  the 
suggestions  of  a  distant  landscape.  The 
companion  to  this  is  the  Crescent  Moon,  a 
lovely  figure  with  the  face  in  profile  and 
streaming  hair,  whoso  folded  wings  make 
the  crescent  in  which  she  sits  among  the 
clouds,  the  atmospheric  effect  again  suggest- 
ing two  overlapping  disks.  The  Air  Spirit 
and  Water  Spirit  are  the  motives  for  two 
companion  panels.  That  of  the  Air  Spirit 


1C4 


is  probably  the  loveliest  of  all  the  beautiful, 
sensitive  types  which  Miss  Wheeler  has 
given.  With  upturned  face,  again  iu  pro- 
file, she  is  represented  seated  on  clouds 
and  sending  forth  a  flight  of  larks.  The 
Water  Spirit  sits  under  the  crest  of  a  wave 
holding  a  shell  to  catch  the  falling  pearls, 
while  a  fish  leaps  up  to  catch  a  pearl  the 
shell  has  lost.  To  continue,  seriatim,  the 
designs  on  the  panels:  Psyche  and  the  Spirit 
of  the  Flowers  make  the  next  pendants. 
These  are  two  floating  figures  in  which  the 
beauty  of  line,  the  soft,  undulating,  and 
varied  curves  of  the  two  figures  are  even 
more  attractive  thau  their  treatment.  Iu 
the  Psyche  the  figure  seems  to  spring  from 
the  growing  stalks  of  the  milkweed,  whose 
bursting  filaments,  becoming  more  and  more 
attenuated,  make  the  light  drapery  of  the 
figure.  In  the  Flower  Spirit  the  form  in 
the  same  way  seems  to  proceed  from  a  leafy 
vine.  The  delicacy  with  which  such  effects 
are  managed  in  the  drawing,  as  in  the  color 
when  put  in  the  tapestry,  shows  the  nicest 
artistic  feeling,  and  the  buoyancy  and  light- 
ness of  the  figures  in  these  panels,  as  in  all 
of  the  aerial  figures,  are  worthy  of  all  praise. 
This  is  especially  to  be  remarked  in  a  larger 
group — the  Graces,  three  girls  dancing  with 


165 


entwined  arms,  their  resplendent  robes  of 
gold  and  blue  and  pink  hemmed  with  jew- 
els, concealing  from  view,  but  not  restrain- 
ing the  feeling  of  the  lithe  forms  beneath. 
Cherubs  swinging  and  cherubs  pelting  one 
another  with  roses  add  two  more  panels; 
and  two  larger  groups  represent  cherubs 
playing  a  large  viol  among  roses,  a  little 
floating  figure  wielding  the  bow,  and  others 
singing  and  playing  a  large  golden  harp. 
In  the  rendering  of  these  figures  the  tint  of 
the  stuffs,  as  has  been  said,  prevails  in  the 
flesh  tints,  the  high  lights  and  shadows 
being  given  by  the  needle.  Particular  men- 
tion should  be  made  of  the  rendering  of  the 
textures,  as  seen,  for  example,  in  the  wood 
of  the  viol  so  carefully  imitated. 

The  manufactures  of  the  association  not 
only  include  fabrics,  but  printed  stuffs. 
Special  designs  for  these  are  furnished,  the 
association  agreeing  that  they  shall  not  be 
repeated.  Some  delightful  specimens  of 
this  sort  have  been  produced,  showing  that 
delicate  balance  between  the  conventional 
and  real  which,  as  has  been  said,  resembles 
more  nearly  Japanese  work  than  any  Euro- 
peau  influence,  and  yet  could  not  be  mis- 
taken for  Japanese  work. 

Work  in  marble  has  been  recently  coil- 


spicuous  iu  interior  decoration,  and  I  am 
glad  to  refer  to  one  of  the  caryatides  "Peace" 
and  "Love,"  modelled  by  Mr.  St.  Gaudeus 
for  the  large  chimney-piece  iu  the  main 
hall  of  Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt's  house. 

To  originality  in  furniture,  with  all  the 
limitations  about  the  word,  we  can  make  no 
claim.  Among  the  best  men  eclecticism  has 
been  wise  and  fruitful,  and  that  which  may 
arise  out  of  this  will  be  fruitful  rather  than 
the  result  of  a  deliberate  intention  to  cre- 
ate. One  is  reminded  of  this  in  the  work  of 
a  young  architect,  Mr.  William  B.  Bigdon, 
which  bears  a  personal  impress,  that  of  del- 
icacy and  refinement.  The  forms  are  pure, 
and  the  pleasure  is  in  these  and  not  in  the 
ornament,  which  is  always  chaste  aud  unpre- 
tentious. I  have  seen  some  drawing-room 
cabinets  by  him  iu  which  a  brass  moulding 
defines  a  parallelogram  with  perfect  frauk- 
iiess.  The  brilliancy  of  the  pieces  lies  in 
the  combination  of  mahogany,  glass  (in 
small  subdivisions),  and  brass  inlay,  all  of 
which  render  them  at  once  light,  sparkling, 
and  brilliant.  This  metal  inlay  is  always 
difficult  iu  this  country,  owing  to  the  ex- 
tremes of  our  climate — extremes  which  ren- 
der the  importation  of  foreign  work  of  this 
kind  impracticable. 


1GT 


The  Associated  Artists  give  a  distinctive 
mark  to  the  furniture  which  they  desigu,inas- 
inuch  as  its  decorative  feature  is  color.  In 
a  number  of  pieces,  for  example,  intended 
for  a  library,  the  lines  suggest  strength  and 
service  rather  than  grace.  These  are  plain- 
ly covered  with  brown  silk  plush,  the  play 
of  light  and  shade  giving  it  a  charm  which 
the  intricacies  of  upholstery  cannot  rival. 
The  ornament,  if  one  chooses  to  discrimi- 
nate in  that  way,  is  in  the  studding  of  the 
frame  with  large  and  small  copper  nails. 
To  these  is  given  but  little  apparent  sym- 
metry in  arrangement,  and  conveying  the 
idea  of  necessity  in  fixing  down  the  stuft' 
rather  than  of  carrying  out  any  design.  The 
color  of  the  copper  in  relation  to  the  tint  of 
the  plush  is  much  more  important,  and  it  is 
this  which  gives  the  furniture  its  decorative 
value. 

The  color  value  of  copper  Mr.  Tiffany 
fully  appreciates,  and  makes  frequent  use 
of  it.  Another  effective  combination  is  cop- 
per worked  with  leather.  I  have  seen  a 
screen  by  him  of  which  the  centre  gives  the 
legend  of  St.  George  in  minute  glass  mo- 
saics,- and  the  leading  of  the  border  spells 
out  the  text  in  Old  English  lettering.  The 
screen  is  mounted  in  leather  of  the  natural 


168 


tint,  and  is  not  only  ornamented  with  cop- 
per nails,  but  has  bandies  and  legs  of  ham- 
mered copper.  In  chandelier  and  such 
pieces  color  is  the  important  thing,  and 
here  the  opalescent  and  chameleon-lined 
glass,  of  which  we  make  much  nse  in  this 
country,  is  introduced  with  effect. 

Lockwood  do  Forest  has  done  much  tow- 
ards the  beauty  of  furniture  in  supplying 
the  makers  of  furniture  with  Indian  orna- 
ment through  his  contracts  with  the  native 
workmen  of  Upper  India.  These  serve  as 
panels,  and,  reproduced  in  metal,  are  used 
in  registers  and  window-screens. 


THE  LIMITS  OF  DECORATION. 

BY   LUCIA.   GILBERT  RUNKLE. 

"  A  GOOD  book,"  said  Milton,  "  is  the  pre- 
cious life-blood  of  a  master-spirit  embalmed 
and  treasured  up  on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond 
life."  But  book-lovers  have  a  right  to  com- 
plain when  the  mere  shell  and  casket  of 
their  riches  is  made  so  splendid  or  so  frail 
that  intimacy  with  the  soul  thereof  is  for- 
bidden them.  Not  to  speak  in  parables, 
your  true  reader  turns  sullen  when  a  new 
book  comes  to  him  in  a  binding  too  fine  for 
its  uses.  He  loves  beautiful  covers,  no  doubt, 
if  he  be  a  genuine  bibliophile,  and  buys  the 
best  he  can  afford,  always  setting  the  soul 
of  a  volume  above  its  body.  But  beautiful 
covers  need  not  be  useless,  as  they  are  so 
often  made. 

Indeed,  book-bindings  should  offer  one  of 
the  fullest  means  of  expression  to  that  love 
for  decorative  art  which  is  so  real  an  out- 
growth of  the  day.  What  we  cavil  at  is  not 


170 


maguificeuce  of  color  or  design,  or  even  ex- 
pense, which  we  think  much  to  be  depre- 
cated, but  uusuitability.  A  book  is  to  be 
held  in  the  hand,  or  to  lie  about  the  room, 
on  table  or  bookcase,  in  a  neighborly  \vsiy, 
until  the  edge  of  its  welcome  is  a  little  dull- 
ed, and  we  offer  it  the  more  studied  cere- 
mony of  the  shelves,  with  their  crowded 
ranks  of  good  company.  A  strong  muslin 
binding  of  soft  unobtrusive  tint,  harmonious 
with  whatever  background  it  may  chance  to 
encounter,  and  not  rudely  sensitive  to  spot 
or  stain,  is,  one  would  say,  the  obvious 
choice  for  your  even  Christian. 

But  there  is  a  growing  tendency  to  use 
very  light  colors,  and  very  delicate  adorn- 
ments, even  for  every -day  books.  These  cov- 
ers, whose  raison  d'etre  is  to  protect  the  pages, 
must  themselves  be  protected — a  precaution 
which  is  a  confession  of  their  unfitness. 
Without  this  paper  shield,  even  the  warmth 
of  the  fingers  often  leaves  a  perceptible 
smirch,  while  coal-dust  and  the  breath  of 
the  gas  are  certain  disngiu-emeut.  Yet  nov- 
els blossom  into  their  gypsy  existence  in  jon- 
quil yellow,  and  the  pale,  perishable  line  of 
the  smilax  flower.  And  more  than  one  vol- 
ume of  dainty  verse,  born  to  be  loved,  and 
often  handled  with  a  touch  like  a  caress, 


171 


passes  its  days  in  lonely  state  behind  glass 
doors,  because  its  splendor  of  white  and  gold 
transforms  the  sweet  companion  into  the 
formal  guest.  Aside  from  the  misappropri- 
ateness  of  these  fantastic  covers,  they  are 
in  themselves  objectionable.  A  pale  object, 
with  rigid  outlines,  lying  upon  the  table, 
or  even  standing  on  the  shelves,  becomes  a 
spot  or  a  line  which  insists  on  being  looked 
at,  and  which  throws  everything  else  out  of 
key. 

It  is  not  germane  to  the  matter  to  say 
that  the  early  bindings  were  delicate,  fan- 
tastic, and  enriched,  and  that  we  do  but  go 
back  to  a  correct  and  established  example 
when  we  imitate  or  even  copy  them;  for 
the  early  bindings  were  the  possession  of  the 
rich  alone,  and  were  held  to  be  testimonies 
of  wealth  and  objects  of  display  as  legiti- 
mate as  jewels  or  silver.  Had  they  been 
popular  possessions,  we  may  be  sure  that 
the  same  fine  taste  which  made  them  sump- 
tuous for  the  few  would  have  made  them 
serviceable  for  the  many,  however  beautiful 
in  color  or  admirable  in  design. 

This  fashion  of  over-decorativeness  in 
decoration  is  a  Saturn  devouring  its  own 
children.  The  value  of  the  thing  is  lost. 
Thus  we  sec  "tidies"  made  by  deft  lingers 


172 


ostensibly  to  protect  lounges  and  chairs 
from  the  ravages  of  warm  palms,  or  the 
mark  of  hyaciuthine  locks.  But  these  webs 
are  so  dainty,  with  mysterious  "drawn- 
work,"  and  painfully  wrought  hand  lace, 
and  fairy  embroideries,  that  if  time  and  eye- 
sight be  worth  anything,  they  are  far  cost- 
lier than  the  most  prodigal  upholstery,  while 
the  very  thought  of  the  wash-tub  is  profa- 
nation. 

The  first  law  of  good  taste  is  fitness,  lack- 
ing which  no  decorative  object  is  really 
admirable.  Judged  by  this  standard,  the 
elaborate  and  costly  table  naperies  so  gen- 
erally adopted  by  fashionable  hostesses  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years  are  worthy  only  of 
that  decree  of  banishment  which  is  certain 
to  overtake  them.  The  laying  of  costly 
satin,  or  cloth  of  gold,  or  folds  of  shimmer- 
ing silk  down  the  centre  of  a  board  where 
meats,  sauces,  wines,  and  fruits  threaten  to 
defile  them  is  a  stupidity  worthy  of  the  Eng- 
lish, from  whom  we  borrowed  it,  and  who 
are  the  most  tasteless  of  all  decorative  blun- 
derers. But  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  lace 
insertions,  borders,  and  ornaments,  that  are 
as  prodigal  in  cost  as  they  are  beautiful  in 
effect,  are  much  better.  For  they,  too,  when 
soiled,  must  go  through  the  expensive  hands 


173 


of  the  cleaner,  whereas  everything  about 
the  table  should  imply  not  only  cleanliness, 
but  ease  and  simplicity  of  cleanliness. 

Lamp -mats  fall  under  a  like  condem- 
nation, being  often  of  material  so  expensive 
and  so  richly  ornamented  that  they  are  fit 
only  for  wall -hangings.  Yet  the  obvious 
purpose  of  a  lamp -mat  is  to  protect  the 
table-cover  from  oil  spots  or  the  end  of  a 
burning  match.  And  in  the  same  way  the 
table-cover  itself  is  often  too  fine  for  use, 
which  is,  supposably,  to  save  the  finely- 
polished  surface  of  oak  or  mahogany  from 
scratches,  stains,  or  blisters.  If  the  orna- 
mentation of  the  fabric  makes  it  too  delicate 
or  too  costly  to  use,  without  protection,  then 
the  limits  of  decoration  have  been  passed. 

Sofa -cushions  of  white  or  light -colored 
satin,  or  of  thin  crepe,  embroidered  or  paint- 
ed with  bunches  of  pale  violets,  wild  roses, 
or  sweet  peas,  oppose  themselves  to  every 
law  of  decorative  art,  yet  they  find  delight- 
ed purchasers.  Lamp-shades  whose  fluffy 
lace  or  piuched-up  paper  flounces  iuvite  a 
nightly  conflagration  ;  picture-frames  so  em- 
blematic in  design,  or  so  over-ornamented 
that  they  distract  attention  from  the  pict- 
ures; vases  whose  elaboration  of  decoration 
makes  them  utterly  unsuitable  to  display 


the  flowers  which  they  were  made  to  hold 
— these  are  the  commonplaces  of  our  homes. 
We  have  safely  passed  through  that 
phase  of  decorati  ve  evolution  where  it  was 
said  that  no  man's  boot-jack  and  no  wom- 
an's irouiug-board  was  safe  from  the  preda- 
tory paint-brush  of  the  artistic  daughters 
of  the  house.  But  we  have  not  yet  compre- 
hended what  the  general  admiration  for 
things  Japanese  should  have  taught  us — 
"  the  simple  grace  of  not  too  much."  Yet 
•we  Americans  are  a  clever  race,  with  quick 
artistic  sensibilities;  wo  ought  not  to  find  it 
hard  to  keep  to  the  law  and  the  prophets  in 
these  matters.  We  have  only  to  remem- 
ber that  decorative  art  is  not  fine  art,  pure 
and  simple,  because  it  must  subordinate  it- 
self to  utility  by  the  very  limitations  of  its 
existence;  and  that  when  it  ceases  to  do 
so,  however  successfully  it  may  catch  the 
popular  fancy,  it  has  yet  become  false  in 
idea,  and  foolish  in  form. 


ABOUT  FURNISHINGS. 

BY  FLORENCE  MORSE. 

Is  any  subject  worn  more  threadbare  than 
that  of  artistic  honae- tarnishing  f  Yet  is 

any  subject  less  ready  to  be  dismissed  into 
au  honorable  retirement  ?  While  there  are 
women  there  will  be  homes.  While  there  are 
homes  the  heart  feminine  will  burn  to 
make  them  as  attractive  as  possible.  And 
while  there  remains  a  great  multitude  of 
people  who,  happily,  cannot  afford  to  go  to 
a  decorator  and  furnisher  and  order  in  a 
Lome,  the  house-mistress  will  read  all  the 
articles  on  decoration  and  furnishing  that 
journal,  magazine,  or  trade-paper  supply. 

As  a  rule,  her  first  requirement  of  the 
anonymous  mentor  is  that  she  shall  be 
taught  how  to  make  a  little  money  go  a 
long  way.  And  though  she  will  be  loth  to 
believe  it,  the  true  solution  of  her  problem 
is  to  buy  very  few  tilings.  Those  of  us  who 
remember  the  wonderful  Japanese  Exhibit 


176 


at  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadel- 
phia, or  who  have  read  Professor  Morse's 
delightful  book,  Japanese  Homes,  *  must 
have  been  struck  by  the  elegance,  refine- 
ment, and.  serenity  of  mind  expressed  in 
their  quiet,  airy,  open  rooms.  The  beauty 
of  these  apartments  is  found  always  in  the 
softness  and  harmony  of  coloring,  and  the 
exquisite  workmanship  of  walls  and  ceiling, 
as  well  as  of  the  scanty  furnishings  and  or- 
naments, and  not  in  a  profusion  of  costly 
and  incongruous  things.  To  a  high-bred 
Japanese  the  notion  of  a  display  of  posses- 
sions for  the  purpose  of  indicating  his  own 
social  place  or  wealth  would  be  inconceiv- 
able. He  loves  artistic  objects  for  the  pleas- 
ure they  afford  to  himself  and  his  friends, 
but  he  uses  them  sparingly,  never  destroy- 
ing their  decorative  value  by  crowding  or 
confusion. 

Our  habits  of  life,  our  climate,  and  our 
social  conditions  make  it  impossible  that  in 
our  own  abodes  we  should  copy  closely  a 
Japanese  model.  Indeed,  we  ought  to  copy 
closely  no  model  at  all,  but  compose  a  home 
interior  from  our  own  tastes  and  necessities. 
Yet  we  should  profit  greatly  by  an  adoption 

*  Japanese  Homes  and  their  Surroundings,  by  Ed- 
ward P.  Morse.  HABPKR  &  BEOTHBHS. 


177 


of  the  Japanese  spirit,  -which  has  no  false 
standards  of  display,  which  does  not  sacri- 
fice to  convention,  which  encourages  indi- 
vidual taste  and  skill,  which  denies  that  the 
old  is  undesirable  because  it  is  old,  or  the 
new  worthy  because  it  is  new,  which  lav- 
ishes expense  only  on  objects  intrinsically 
beautiful  and  lasting,  and  which  insists  oil 
freedom,  cleanliness,  simplicity,  and  grace 
as  the  essentials  of  household  art. 

There  was  a  time,  a  few  years  ago,  when 
the  influence  of  Eastlake,  Morris,  and  the 
other  English  reformers  of  household  taste 
seemed  to  have  emancipated  us  from  the  tra- 
ditionary errors  of  our  ways.  At  that  time 
we  went  iu  for  the  "  sincere  "  in  furniture 
and  decoration,  and  possibly  came  out  with 
the  ugly.  We  sometimes  mistook  the  pon- 
derous for  the  stable,  and  the  dingy  for  the 
harmonious.  But  the  whole  movement  was 
iu  the  right  direction,  and  we  left  forever 
behind  us  the  worship  of  certain  baleful 
false  gods.  Yet  it  is  to  be  lamented  that 
this  reform  was,  for  the  greater  part,  im- 
posed upon  us  from  without,  and  was  not 
the  fruit  of  the  artistic  soul's  own  conscious- 
ness of  sin.  So  that  the  fallings  from  grace, 
the  right-hand  stumblings  and  left-hand  de- 
fections, are  already  numerous  enough  to  bo 

12 


ITS 


discouraging.  For  example,  we  were  told 
by  Eastlake,  the  prophet,  that  modern  win- 
dow-hangings were  worse  than  a  crime; 
they  were  a  blunder.  A  window,  said  this 
reformer,  is  an  opening  made  in  a  wall,  at 
a  considerable  expense,  for  the  admission  of 
light  and  air.  The  modern  upholsterer  cun- 
ningly drapes  this  aperture  so  as  to  exclude 
every  possible  ray  of  light  or  breath  of  air, 
and  to  increase  his  bills  in  proportion  to 
his  decrease  of  the  family  comfort.  First 
there  comes  a  Holland  shade  of  an  objection- 
able cold  hue,  which  may  be  pardoned  except 
as  to  its  color,  owing  to  the  necessity  of  mod- 
ifying the  sunlight;  then  there  is  added  a 
pair  of  costly  lace  curtains,  ugly  and  inap- 
propriate in  design,  perishable  in  material, 
and  of  no  value  as  a  screen,  were  a  screen 
needed.  Fashion  demands  that  these  should 
sweep  the  floor,  and  meet  across  the  window, 
making  it  difficult  to  open  or  shut  the  sashes 
without  tearing  the  lace.  Superimposed  on 
these  draperies  is  another  set  of  satin,  bro- 
cade, velvet,  rep,  or  other  heavy  material, 
fastened  immovably  to  the  casing  at  the  top, 
behind  a  sham  brass  cornice,  sweeping  the 
carpet  at  the  bottom  to  the  depth  of  a  foot 
or  more,  and  drawn  back  on  each  side,  at  an 
ugly  angle,  with  ornamental  cord  heavy 


179 


enough  for  a  cable.  As  if  bad  taste  still  lacked 
a  monument,  a  couple  of  yards  of  this  costly 
stuff  must  be  draped  in  foolish  and  insignifi- 
cant folds  at  the  top,  and  called  a  lambre- 
quin. This  arrangement  prevails  in  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  well-to-do  homes, 
where  ordinary  intelligence  is  assumed. 

Now,  said  this  voice  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  commonplace,  ponder  these  things 
in  your  hearts.  When  the  window  was  a 
mere  opening  in  the  wall  of  a  castle  or 
manor,  and  at  a  later  time,  when  the  glazier 
imperfectly  set  the  poor  glass  casements, 
thick  curtains  were  hung  before  these  aper- 
tures, which  might  be  drawn  at  night  to 
keep  out  the  draught  from  the  already  cold 
and  draughty  hall.  The  curtains  were  sus- 
pended on  poles,  set  above  the  window-cas- 
ing, that  the  wind  might  not  blow  in  over 
them,  and  the  top  of  the  fabric  was  turned 
over,  partly  for  ornament,  and  partly  for 
utility.  These  innocent  and  appropriate 
ends,  fringed  out  for  good  looks,  are  the 
source  of  our  hideous  and  senseless  lambre- 
quins, which  offer  harborage  to  dust  and 
moth.  With  well-set  modern  windows,  the 
only  excuse  for  curtains  is  the  beauty  of 
color  and  line  which  they  substitute  for  the 
rigid  framework.  But  they  must  be  made 


of  materials  whose  design  and  coloring  are 
not  aggressive,  which  will  fall  into  beauti- 
ful folds,  which  will  slideeasily  on  appropri- 
ate rods  to  uncover  the  entire  glass,  and 
which  will  never  be  allowed  to  swathe  the 
window,  to  whose  importance  all  embellish- 
ment remains  secondary. 

Conscience-smitten  women,  reading  these 
denunciations,  took  down  theiv  expensive, 
deplorable  upholstery,  gave  away  their 
sham  brass  cornices,  and  started  on  their 
career  of  penitence  with  Liberty  silks,  art 
muslins,  Madras  cottons,  and  real  brass  rods. 
The  multitude  followed,  unreasoning  but 
happy.  We  had  a  few  years  of  "  art  "  wall- 
papers, "art"  furniture,  "art"  draperies, 
wherein  much  that  was  good  enjoyed  favor 
impartially  with  much  that  was  bad.  Onr 
houses  were  weeded  out,  however,  and  we 
learned  that  beauty  is  not  dependent  on  ex- 
pense. 

But  that  our  virtue  is  superficial,  and 
that  we  are  not  throned  above  temptation, 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  meretricious 
French  fashions,  against  which  Eastlake  and 
Morris  inveighed,  have  had,  are  having,  an- 
other reign  of  prosperity.  Floral  wall-pa- 
pers, floral  carpets,  in  natural  forms  and 
colors;  furniture  with  illogical  and  weak- 


181 


en  ing  curves;  upholstery  in  light  patterns 
of  realistic  flowers,  fruits,  shepherdesses,  or 
landscapes;  meaningless  bric-a-brac,  all 
these  are  "  in  "  once  more.  Still,  no  fash- 
ion, either  of  clothes  or  furnishings,  is  uni- 
versal, as  once  it  was.  The  Japanese-East- 
lake-Morris-Cook  influence  has  made  women 
think  for  themselves,  and  moved  the  more 
cultivated  and  self-reliant  among  them  to 
act  upon  the  principle  that  their  home  is  as 
individual  a  possession  as  their  wardrobe, 
and  may  as  honestly  express  their  personal 
taste  and  convictions.  Moreover,  they  aro 
far  more  willing,  both  in  deed  and  in  word,  to 
admit  the  need  of  economy  when  it  exists. 
Now,  if  to  this  great  gain  could  be  added  a 
sense  of  the  beauty  of  economy — that  is,  of 
the  artistic  value  of  sparseness,  almost  of 
bareness,  in  furnishing — lovely  homes  might 
be  almost  as  common  among  us  as  among 
the  enviable  Japanese.  It  is  hardly  too 
much  to  say  that  the  very  best  conditions 
for  securing  an  artistic  interior  are  the  com- 
bination of  cultivated  taste,  good  judgment, 
that  intuitive  adaptation  of  means  to  ends 
which  we  call  Yankee  ingenuity,  and  a  shal- 
low purse.  These  things  prevail  against 
odds.  For  example,  so  many  people  now 
make  their  homes  in.  the  country  for  the 


greater  part  of  the  year  that  they  take 
apartments  in  the  city  for  the  winter 
months  alone.  Agents  are  unwilling  to 
decorate  a  flat  or  house  for  so  short  a  time, 
but  the  artistic  tenant  may  make  her  stay 
happier  if  the  walls  be  covered  temporarily 
with  material  of  her  own  selection  ;  some- 
thing that  may  be  taken  down  at  the  end  of 
the  season,  cleaned,  rolled  up  and  packed 
away  for  some  other  house  another  year. 

The  most  expensive  materials  are  no 
better  in  effect  than  many  of  the  cheapest. 
Morris  designs  are  repeated  on  five-cent 
cheese-cloths,  and  Japanese  cottons.  Bur- 
lap is  another  valuable  material,  while  the 
denims  are  of  untold  value  to  the  woman  of 
small  means.  Instead  of  painting,  papering, 
and  refurnishing  a  house  or  flat  taken  only 
for  a  season,  it  is  possible  to  make  wall 
decorations,  furniture  and  floor  coverings 
that  may  do  duty  many  times  in  many 
places. 

Burlap  as  a  wall  covering  is  restful  and 
harmonious,  and  is  valuable  as  a  background. 
The  seams  may  be  lightly  sewed  and  the 
stuff  loosely  stretched  and  nailed;  in  the 
course  of  time  the  artist  of  the  family  may 
succeed  in  painting  upon  it  some  large  effec- 
tive design,  conventional  in  character.  The 


183 


wall  covering  must  be  sepai'ated  botb  from 
the  floor  and  ceiling  by  some  direct  line  or 
border.  For  this  purpose  several  yards  of 
matting  may  be  used  as  a  dado  or  frieze — 
the  dado  being  most  effective.  Matting  of 
the  plain,  unfigured  Japanese  sort,  makes 
au  admirable  dado,  and  ordinary  tea-chest 
matting,  if  cut  in  panels  and  framed  with 
narrow  moulding,  will  be  satisfactory. 

Any  amateur  artist  will  be  able  to  paint 
fruit  on  such  a  dado  for  a  dining-room.  If 
there  is  an  objection  to  draped  walls,  plain 
cartridge-paper  may  be  bought  for  twenty 
cents  a  roll,  and  a  room  may  be  pleasantly 
transformed  by  it  at  small  expense.  Ordi- 
nary flock-paper  may  be  used  for  a  dado 
and  painted  a  rich,  dark  terra-cotta,  for  in- 
stance, while  the  walls  above  may  be  hung 
with  a  lighter  cartridge-paper.  There  are 
Japanese  papers  which  may  be  lightly 
tacked  to  the  wall  and  easily  removed,  and 
which  make  a  low-toned  surface.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  paper  and  paint  a  room  one's  self, 
and  here  is  still  another  opportunity  for 
saving  money.  A  clever  woman  should  be 
able  to  copy  a  frieze  in  stencil,  or  she  may 
have  the  moulding  "dropped  "  ten  or  twelve 
inches,  if  the  cartridge-paper  is  used. 

To  a  woman  of  taste  who  has  not  much 


money,  and  who  wishes  to  have  everything 
about  her  as  pretty  and  refined  as  possible, 
there  is  nothing  so  satisfactory  as  denims. 
There  is  a  beautiful  dull  bine  that  is  the 
best  color  of  all.  With  a  bold  embroidery 
of  white  floss  thread  on  the  borders,  the 
windows  may  be  curtained  and  doorways 
draped  at  less  cost  and  with  far  more  beauty 
than  if  their  owner  were  to  use  any  of  the 
materials  upon  which  she  may  first  have  set 
her  heart.  A  broad,  long  divan,  home-made, 
perhaps,  may  also  have  a  white-embroidered 
cover  of  denim ;  a  dozen  cushions  of  all  sizes 
and  shapes  have  place  on  such  a  couch,  and 
are  also  to  be  covered  with  denim.  The 
material  may  be  used  on  either  side,  the 
tones  being  quite  different ;  and  the  price 
of  this  useful  cloth  is  but  twelve  and  one- 
half  cents  a  yard. 

A  floor  covering,  like  the  walls  of  a  room, 
should  be  quiet  and  unobtrusive  in  tone, 
since  it  is  to  serve  as  background  for  objects 
placed  upon  it.  Straw  mattings  are  invalu- 
able, and  the  plain  greenish-white  weaves 
wear  longer  and  better  than  the  colored 
ones.  Those  who  object  to  a  painted  border 
around  a  room  may  use  the  "fillings"  that 
make  an  admirable  foundation  for  rugs. 
Wood-color  and  old  blue  are  the  best  wear- 


185 


ing  colors,  the  reds  and  some  of  the  blues 
fading  quickly.  The  fasjiiou  of  making  rug- 
shaped  carpets  has  much  to  commend  it, 
aud  these  may  be  made  from  low-priced 
remnants  that  will  last  a  lifetime,  if  not 
subjected  to  too  hard  usage.  The  large 
Japanese  cotton  rugs  are  a  boon  to  the  house- 
wife of  moderate  means.  Some  of  the  color- 
ings and  designs  are  exquisite ;  they  wear 
well  and  are  moth-proof. 

"  Corners  "  have  great  capabilities.  Chairs 
are  to  be  placed  in  groups  and  no  longer  to 
stand  uuiuvitiugly  with  backs  against  the 
wall.  Harmony  of  color  helps  to  make  a 
distinct  atmosphere  in  a  room.  The  bright 
reds,  blues  and  "  old  golds  "  of  the  second- 
rate  shops  have  no  place  in  the  artistic 
home.  Plain  wooden  chairs  with  cushions, 
or  comfortable  chairs  without  cushions,  help 
towards  ideal  furnishing.  The  mautel  is 
not  to  be  draped,  nor  is  the  patient  piano  to 
be  loaded  with  bric-a-brac.  Scarfs  are  not 
to  hang  over  chairs,  nor  bows  and  ribbons 
perched  where  they  do  not  belong.  "  Effect " 
must  be  sought  in  other  ways.  For  color, 
large  bowls  and  vases  of  yellow  and  red 
pottery  filled  with  growing  plants  suffice. 
Sofas  and  divans  should  stand  at  angles, 
near  open  fire  or  comfortable  book-table. 


186 


The  "centre-table,"  wheeled  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  room,  may  become  the  heart  of 
a  "  corner." 

Low  tables  about  the  room  have  other 
uses  than  for  the  five  o'clock  teas.  The 
chess-player  likes  such  a  table,  and  so  do 
the  children.  The  real  Turkish  coffee-table 
is  a  pretty  piece  of  furniture  now  manu- 
factured in  America.  It  is  sold  as  a  table 
or  as  a  stool,  and  is  the  prettiest  of  all  low 
tables.  Instead  of  buying  at  the  art  stores 
the  stiif-looking  wooden  benches,  so  much 
like  the  old-fashioned  wash  -  benches,  one 
may  find  straight-back  settees,  to  be  painted 
black — using  the  glossy  carriage  paint  for 
this  purpose;  this  has  a  fine  enamel  and 
makes  an  excellent  finish.  A  cushion  for 
the  seat,  with  pillows,  is  then  to  be  added. 

Screeiw  are  of  the  greatest  decorative 
value;  they  are  cheap,  considering  their  en- 
durance when  properly  treated,  and  they  are 
useful.  They  must  be  chosen  with  scrupu- 
lous care,  as  they  may  become  the  back- 
ground for  a  graceful  woman  or  a  tall  palm, 
and  add  much  value  to  the  scheme  of  deco- 
ration. 

Such  a  room  as  this  will  not  seem  crowd- 
ed, and  each  object  in  it,  being  simple  and 
genuine,  will  enhance  the  effect  of  every 


187 


other.  Books,  of  course,  must  have  their 
place,  and  that  place  ought  uever  to  be  a 
locked  or  even  a  glazed  bookcase.  They 
should  live  within  easy  reach  of  friendly 
hands.  Pictures  and  bric-a-brac,  one  is 
tempted  to  say,  should  be  conspicuous  by 
their  absence.  In  the  average  homo  these 
are  reckoned  as  furnishings,  and  profusion  is 
mistaken  for  elegance.  Pictures  are  crowd- 
ed on  the  walls,  without  regard  to  subject 
or  to  light,  as  if  the  room  wero  a  gallery, 
•where  every  inch  of  space  must  be  made  the 
most  of.  Bronzes,  porcelain,  glass,  lamps, 
candles,  sconces,  flower-pots,  vases,  clocks, 
photograph  -  frames,  silver,  statuary,  curios, 
plaques,  are  huddled  together  on  mantel, 
cabinet,  bookcase,  bracket,  table,  and  shelf, 
regardless  of  shape,  size,  utility,  color,  or 
quality.  When  Christmas  brings  another 
invoice  of  similar  possessions,  room  is  made 
for  them  by  banishing  a  few  of  their  prede- 
cessors to  the  bedrooms,  but  the  ranks  are 
seldom  thinned. 

In  a  Japanese  drawing-room  one  picture 
would  be  hung  at  a  time  on  a  wall-space 
carefully  planned  to  secure  the  most  favor- 
able light.  One  priceless  cabinet,  perhaps, 
would  sustain  one  specimen  of  cloisonne, 
or  porcelain,  or  marvellous  sword-guard  of 


hammered  gold  and  iron.  One  noble  bronze 
jar,  standing  firmly  on  the  floor,  would  hold 
one  spreading  bough  of  cherry-blossoms, 
and  the  decoration  of  that  room  would  be 
complete.  From  time  to  time  these  would 
be  changed  for  other  beautiful  possessions, 
but  no  more  objects  of  art  would  be  seen  at 
once.  How  dignified,  how  reposeful,  does 
not  such  artistic  restraint  appear  to  our  im- 
aginations! How  "cluttered,"  untidy,  and 
common  would  not  our  indiscriminate  riff- 
raff of  bric-a-brac  seem  to  the  cultivated 
Japanese  !  American  lavishness  will  never 
be  pruned  to  this  Oriental  simplicity  But 
it  may  learn  that  a  few  good  pictures  in  a 
good  light,  a  few  decorative  articles,  good  in 
themselves  and  harmonious  one  with  an- 
other, make  a  more  beautiful  and  enduring 
whole  than  a  multitude  of  frivolous  and 
unrelated  objects. 

These  suggestions  are  meant  for  the  make- 
shift habitations  to  which  so  many  poor  but 
cultivated  families  who  migrate  twice  a 
year  are  usually  doomed.  They  are  meant 
to  help  the  home-maker  who  must  save 
money.  But  they  are  fouuded  on  sound 
principles.  It  is  impossible  to  over-estimate 
the  importance  of  beautiful  and  tasteful  sur- 
roundings in  daily  life.  If,  as  Goethe  said, 


189 


no  mau  leaves  a  room  the  same  person  that 
be  entered  it,  then  the  room  should  attune 
his  spirit  to  harmony,  dignity,  and  truthful- 
ness. Fussiuess  must  not  surround  him,  nor 
incongruity,  nor  pretence.  It  sometimes 
seems  as  if  we  went  exactly  the  wrong  way 
to  work  to  furnish  our  houses.  We  are  iu- 
clined  to  adapt  our  way  of  life  to  our  sur- 
roundings, rather  than  our  surroundings  to 
our  way  of  life.  We  fill  a  room  to  the  brim 
with  goods  and  chattels,  and  then  try  to  feel 
that  they  are  the  expression  of  our  inward 
needs,  if,  indeed,  we  have  any  concern  be- 
yond that  of  securing  a  prettier  environment 
than  our  neighbors. 

If,  now,  we  could  put  every  stick  we  pos- 
sess in  some  commodious  store-closet,  and 
begin  with  one  chair,  in  an  empty  room, 
adding,  piece  by  piece,  what  the  need  of  the 
hour  suggested,  and  putting  chair,  table, 
shelf,  or  lamp  where  the  need  of  the  hour 
suggested,  we  should  end  by  producing  a 
delightfully  habitable,  sensible,  attractive 
interior.  And  this  is  only  another  way  of 
repeating  that  utility  must  precede  and  un- 
derlie beauty. 

One  of  the  happiest  social  changes  which 
revised  standards  of  living  have  induced  in 
America  is  the  increasing  love  of  the  country. 


190 


This  instinct  does  not  demaud  the  satisfac- 
tions of  Lenox,  Newport,  or  Tuxedo.  It  is 
content  with  cheap  and  homely  family  hab- 
itations— but  on  the  family  habitation  it  in- 
sists. The  "summer  boarder"  gives  place 
more  and  more  every  season  to  the  cottager. 
And  this  habit  of  country  cottage  life,  on  the 
sea -shore  or  in  the  mountains,  demands 
cheap,  tasteful,  and  serviceable  furnishings. 
The  sea-shore  will  long  remain  "  fashion- 
able," simply  because  bathing-places  are 
comparatively  few,  and  will  always  be 
crowded.  And  with  the  crowd  come  the  Sar- 
atoga trunk  and  the  city  standards  of  hos- 
pitality and  behavior.  But  mountain  places 
give  elbow-room,  and  incite  to  the  aban- 
donment of  conventionalities  and  all  elabo- 
ration of  living.  Thither  the  hard-worked 
American  may  flee  for  rest  and  quiet.  The 
mountain  cottage,  therefore,  should  free 
both  mistress  and  servant  from  all  needless 
toils,  and  only  as  it  does  this  can  it  be  real- 
ly furnished  in  good  taste.  This  home  may 
become  a  far  more  real  expression  of  its  oc- 
cupants than  any  city-honse  can  be.  With 
tireless  energy  may  the  mistress  sew,  paint, 
upholster,  or  hammer.  She  may  mount  on 
ladders  to  stencil,  or  grovel  on  floors  to 
stain,  And  so  greatly  will  she  enjoy  her 


191 


labors  as  to  bo  iu  constant  danger  of  do- 
ing too  much,  and  spoiling  that  quaint  sim- 
plicity which  is  the  soul  of  sylvan  beauty. 
Let  the  down  -  stairs  floors  be  stained  or 
painted  only,  aiid  the  chamber  floors  covered, 
for  quietness,  with  clean  and  dainty  matting. 
If  there  are  any  rugs,  let  them  be  cheap, 
and  light  in  weight,  and  low  iu  tone.  There 
is  color  enough  in  woods  and  sky  and  grass 
and  flowers.  Let  factory  wares  bear  them- 
selves with  modesty.  Matched -boards  of 
clear  pine  make  a  warm  and  cleanly  wall 
and  ceiling  surface,  which  grows  warmer 
and  darker  with  time.  On  such  walls  pict- 
ures should  be  hung  with  a  sparing  hand, 
and  perhaps  the  best  taste  would  banish 
them  entirely.  No  picture  can  be  so  beauti- 
ful as  that  living  one  of  swaying  boughs 
and  bending  grass  and  stately  mountain 
which  every  window  frames.  And  for  that 
reason,  as  for  others,  curtains  should  be  the 
simplest  undraped  lengths  of  muslin  or 
Bilkoline  or  chintz,  that  may  be  drawn  at 
night,  but  need  not  impede  the  light  by 
day.  Wooden  settles,  covered  with  denim 
or  chintz,  cushioned  with  fibre,  and  plenti- 
fully bestrewn  with  various  shapes  and 
sizes  of  comfortable  pillows;  kitchen  tables 
made  presentable  by  denim  or  chintz  table- 


192 


cloths,  roomy  and  comfortable  for  books, 
work,  or  games;  small  rustic  tables  made 
by  the  neighboring  carpenter ;  a  rustic 
desk  from  the  same  craftsman  '  rocking- 
chairs,  wide -armed  shaker -chairs,  a  shelf 
running  all  round  the  room,  five  feet  from 
the  floor,  for  books,  vases,  the  clock,  accu- 
mulating odds  and  ends ;  an  old  -  fashioned 
wide-throated  chimney,  with  a  fire  on  the 
old  -  fashioned  plain  andirons  whenever  the 
temperature  will  permit ;  plenty  of  lamps, 
homely  and  serviceable  ;  great  brown  pot- 
tery jars,  of  the  coarse  texture  of  drain-pipe, 
but  delightful  in  color,  for  tree-boughs  and 
blackberry  vines,  and  golden-rod,  and  ferns, 
and  the  "keeping-room"  will  have  become 
a  joy  of  color  and  a  triumph  of  suitability, 
and  therefore  of  good  taste,  at  an  expense 
of  perhaps  fifty  dollars  for  furnishings.  One 
end  of  the  keepiug-rooin  should  serve  as 
acknowledged  dining-room,  with  the  din- 
ner-set displayed  on  an  open  dresser,  stained 
a  neutral  shade  and  fitted  with  curtains,  let 
us  say.  Except  a  table  and  the  necessary 
chairs,  this  dining-room  end  will  require 
no  more  furnishing  Bedrooms  should  be 
treated  with  equal  simplicity,  good  coloring 
being  soon  found  to  atone  for  any  lack  of 
furniture-  Excellent  dressing-tables,  wash- 


stands,  and  paper-closets  may  bo  made  of 
pack  ing -boxes,  \\yth  cotton  hangings;  and 
the  entire  furnishing  of  an  eight-roomed 
cottage  of  this  simple  description  may  be 
accomplished — has  been  accomplished — for 
less  than  two  hundred  dollars.  Yet  the  se- 
lection is  as  tasteful,  the  composition  as 
harmonious,  the  color  as  beautiful  as  the 
most  fastidious  critic  could  desire.  The  se- 
cret of  success  is  the  absence  of  all  second- 
rate  ornamentation, the  fewness  of  decorative 
objects,  the  genuine  utility  and  simplicity 
of  every  article,  and  the  unbroken  color  har- 
monies. Effects  are  not  frittered  away,  and. 
(lie  feeling  of  restfulness  dominates  the 
house. 

In  this  matter  of  furnishing  we  ought  to 
bear  in  mind  that  upon  utility  must  all 
ideas  of  decoration  and  ornament  finally 
rest,  and  that  an  over-dressed  house  is,  were 
that  possible,  in  worse  taste  than  an  over- 
dressed woman. 

13 


DECORATIVE  AND  APPLIED  ART. 

BY   CANDACE   WHEELER. 

IN  defining  the  two  expressions  of  human 
ability  which  we  call  "  Decorative  ami  Ap- 
plied Art,"  it  is  necessary  first  to  show,  not 
only  the  compass  and  meaning,  but  the 
limits  of  both,  to  explain  where  the  one 
ends  and  the  other  begins,  and  to  bound 
the  legitimate  field  of  each. 

Decorative  Art,  in  a  simple  and  broad 
sense,  covers  all  art  which  enriches  and 
beautifies  architecture,  whether  of  public 
monuments,  buildings  devoted  to  national 
or  governmental  use,  to  religious  worship, 
or  the  more  or  less  elaborate  structures  de- 
voted to  the  varying  requirements  of  do- 
mestic shelter.  It  is  the  function  of  decora- 
tive art  to  assist  in  making  all  these  dif- 
ferent evidences  of  man's  power  and  ability 
beautiful.  It  includes  sculpture  and  paint- 
ing wherever  these  arts  are  accessory  to  the 
perfection  or  beauty  of  architectural  con- 


strncfion.  It  includes  all  forms  of  enrich- 
ment by  art,  whether  in  carving,  color,  iu- 
cised  work,  or  inlaying  It  may  use  clay, 
stone,  glass,  wood,  metal,  or  pigment,  in. 
any  order  or  manner  which  is  harmonious 
•with  the  structure  to  which  it  belongs.  It 
may  add  carvings  in  all  materials,  and  cast- 
ings in  all  metals;  but  in  the  use  of' all 
these  different  ways  and  means  of  art,  it 
must  never  fail  to  acknowledge  its  depend- 
ence It  includes  mural  painting,  however 
wide  its  scope  or  dignified  its  character. 
The  greatest  efforts  of  the  greatest  painters 
may  cover  the  lengthened  perspective  of  a, 
Loggia,  or  soar  upward  in  the  aerial  spaces 
of  the  grandest  dome,  They  may  marshal 
the  long  procession  of  the  richest  frieze,  or 
crowd  the  grand  divisions  of  a  ceiling  with 
visions  of  beauty  All  these  are  still  but 
accessory  to  the  art  that  leads  the  grand 
procession — the  art  that  may  and  can  reach 
and  compass  the  highest  qualities  of  sublime 
and  compelling  beauty,  the  art  which  is 
inevitably  based  upon  mechanical  and  math- 
ematical knowledge  and  founded  upon  the 
immutable  laws  of  nature  and  science.  But 
where  architecture  leads,  decorative  art  fol- 
lows. Its  first  principle  then  is  nub<>rdina- 
tion.  To  be  itself  it  must  acknowledge  its 


dependence,  and  be  not  only  content  but 
proud  to  be  secondary.  It  must  be  as  scru- 
pulous in  its  allegiance  as  were  the  greatest 
masters  who  left  to  succeeding  generations 
the  frescos  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  the  airy 
decorations  of  the  courts  of  the  Vatican, 
and  the  sculptures  and  mosaics  of  the  great 
cathedrals  and  churches  of  the  Early  and 
Middle  Ages.  It  may  hold  in  the  sight  of 
all  men  this  record  of  its  nobility,  and  pro- 
ceed on  its  way  through  the  closing  years  of 
this  joyous  nineteenth  century  looking  for- 
ward to  a  future  as  useful,  as  honored,  and 
as  proudly  capable,  as  any  period  which  has 
preceded  it.  The  present  prosperity  of  the 
world,  the  probable  and  increasing  devotion 
of  the  riches  of  the  world  to  the  wants 
and  tastes  instead  of  the  warfare  of  man- 
kind, promise  a  revival  of  architecture  in 
its  largest  and  highest  possibilities;  and  the 
revival  of  architecture  means  a  revival,  a 
growth,  a  progress  in  the  arts.  The  mar- 
shalling of  beauty  which  characterizes  the 
Columbian  Fair  will  be  followed  by  an  al- 
most universal  recognition  of  the  value  of 
the  purely  decorative  arts  in  conjunction 
with  architecture,  and  it  is  wise  to  insist 
upon  the  principle  upon  which  all  good, 
lasting,  and  successful  (locorattve  art  must 


forever  rest,  the  principle  of  subordination 
— the  fact  that  it  has  not  a  first  and  most 
prominent,  but  an  entirely  secondary  func- 
tion. The  moment  it  claims  to  be  moro 
than  accessory,  that  it  strives  to  create  u 
dominant  impression  upon  the  mind,  or  be- 
come an  independent  impersonation  of 
thought,  it  ceases  to  be  true  to  its  function, 
and  creates  a  dissonance,  or  want  of  har- 
mony. There»have  been,  and  are,  instances 
where  the  thought  and  performance  of  the 
decorator  is  greater  than  that  of  the  builder, 
where  the  work  or  creation  of  the  architect 
is  greatly  dignified  and  ennobled  by  the 
superior  talent  of  the  painter  or  decorator; 
but  if  he  is  true  to  the  principle  which  un- 
derlies his  art,  that  of  subordination,  the 
work  of  the  architect  will  not  be  absorbed, 
the  building  will  not  become  merely  a  thea- 
tre for  the  display  of  his  talent;  the  pri- 
mary motive  will  remain,  no  matter  how 
much  it  may  be  ennobled  by  the  sympathy 
and  power  of  the  decorator,  or  the  superior 
greatness  of  his  gifts.  He  may  people  the 
structure  with  immortal  statues,  or  make  it 
precious  wit.li  immortal  pictures,  but  Ihry 
will  relate  to  its  original  purpose,  and  be 
governed  by  the  stylo  or  period  in  which 
the  architect  chose  to  express  himself.  It 


198 


is  perhaps  pardonable  to  insist  upon  the 
rank  of  this  principle  of  subordination,  even, 
although  it  is  a  universally  recognized  one, 
because  out  of  it  grow  all  the  principles,  all 
the  philosophy  of  decorative  and  applied 
art,  even  to  its  widest  and  most  remote  ap- 
plication. We  cannot  fail  to  recognize  its 
truth,  eveu  beyond  where  construction  in 
the  sense  of  architecture  ceases,  and  decora- 
tion becomes  applied  art,  or  art  applied  to 
objects  and  manufactures.  The  primary 
principle  underlies  both,  and  it  can  easily 
be  seen  how  all  qualities,  virtues,  and  ex- 
cellencies grow  out  of  these  first  and  under- 
lying principles.  Subordination  includes 
appropriateness,  appropriateness  includes 
suggestiveness,  suggest!  veness  means  all 
the  poetry  of  thought  called  out  by  perfect 
treatment  of  a  noble  theme,  the  treatment 
expressed  by  composition.  Beauty  of  color 
and  grace  of  line  are  qualities  which  are  in- 
dividual gifts,  and  serve  to  make  the  work 
of  one  artist  more  precious  and  attractive 
than  that  of  another;  but  even  these  gifts 
must  conform  to  laws,  if  we  are  to  se- 
cure that  conjunction  which  completes  and 
perfects  the  most  comprehensive  beauty 
achieved  by  man  —  the  beauty  which  be- 
comes a  permanent  heritage  of  pleasurable 


sensation  to  the  human  race,  and  an  abso- 
lute influence  in  its  progress  towards  higher 
living. 

This  influence  may  seem  a  great  deal  to 
claim  for  art,  but  since  the  moral  training 
of  humanity  is  by  means  of  its  pleasures 
and  its  pains,  no  better  teacher  can  be  found 
than  that  which  confers  happiness  by  the 
gratification  of  the-  inherent  and  natural 
love  of  art ;  and  hardly  a  greater  good  can 
be  worked  for  mankind  than  the  creation  of 
universal  and  surrounding  beauty.  Deco- 
rative and  applied  art  are  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  mankind,  since  the  one  con- 
tributes to  those  monuments  which  excite 
the  loftiest  and  most  supreme  satisfaction, 
and  the  other  surrounds,  or  may  surround, 
the  individual  with  endless  sources  of  pleas- 
ure and  content.  Applied  art  is  to  decora- 
tive iirt  what  the  child  is  to  the  man.  It  is 
in  short  a  consequence  of  the  greater  work, 
but  it  holds  within  itself  the  same  obliga- 
tion to  the  same  laws.  It  is  the  applica- 
tion of  knowledge  and  love  of  art  to  the 
implements  and  manufactures  of  the  me- 
chanic and  the  manufacturer.  It  applies  to 
things  we  may  wear  or  use  or  handle,  the 
small  conveniences  which  are  a  part  of  our 
daily  lives.  It  moulds  the  shape  of  the 


200 


rude  and  common  implement  into  grace, 
and  invests  it  with  interest  and  beauty.  It 
puts  art  and  thought  into  the  things  which 
surround  us.  It  elevates  our  habits,  and  in- 
vests our  customs  with  dignity,  and  is  our 
unconscious  teacher  iu  beauty,  grace,  and 
truth.  It  fuses  thought,  sentiment,  and 
feeling  into  the  insensate  matter  of  which 
these  surroundings  are  composed,  and  per- 
forms the  miracle  of  exciting  in  us  an  an- 
swering thought.  It  makes  these  things 
speak  to  us  with  a  human  voice,  and  ex- 
press human  thought  as  truly  as  a  book 
may  convey  the  thought  of  another  mind  to 
us;  and  in  proportion  as  the  thought  is  true, 
and  the  expression  beautiful,  are  we  bene- 
fit ted  or  deteriorated  by  its  proximity. 

It  is  this  domestic  influence,  if  we  may 
call  it  so,  of  applied  art  which  makes  its 
practice  of  true  principles  of  importance  to 
us.  It  is  almost  more  necessary  to  the 
growth  and  culture  of  the  every-day  world 
that  every-day  art,  the  finish,  proportion, 
and  excellence  of  the  things  among  which 
we  live,  and  by  which  we  live,  should  be 
perfect,  and  perfectly  true  to  principles, 
than  that  we  should  have  more  or  less  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  studying  the  highest 
examples  of  human  achievement.  It  is  ul- 


201 


ways  a  long  step  between  us  and  them,  even 
in  comprehension;  but  the  other  lives  with 
us,  and  is  a  part  of  our  lives  ;  it  enters  into 
our  unconscious  thoughts,  and  makes  our 
judgment  just  and  our  knowledge  enlight- 
ened. Applied  art  could  do  none  of  these 
things  unless,  in  its  best  and  purest  practice, 
it  followed  the  laws  which  goveru  decora- 
tive art,  even  to  its  utmost  derivative.  It 
must  always  and  forever  be  mindful  of  its 
dependence  and  its  meaning.  It  may  be  as 
beautiful  as  nature,  and  as  harmonious  as 
the  truest  chord  upon  the  most  perfect  in- 
strument, but  its  kind  of  beauty  must  be 
based  upon  the  use  of  the  thing  to  which  it 
is  applied,  and  its  harmony  be  in  accord 
•with  the  purpose  or  necessity  to  which  it  is 
added.  In  short  the  same  great  principles 
of  subordination  and  appropriateness  upon 
which  decorative  art  is  founded  are  as 
strenuously  binding  in  the  varied  and  end- 
less directions  of  applied  art.  It  is  easy  to 
illustrate  this  by  reference  to  any  one  of  the 
manufactures  to  which  art  is,  or  may  be,  ap- 
plied. Take,  for  instance,  that  of  the  silver- 
smith. A  silver  spoon  may  be  as  truly  an 
object  of  art  as  a  picture,  but  it  must  begin 
by  being  perfectly  adapted  to  its  use.  It 
must  have  the  form  which  is  best  and  most 


convenient  for  its  original  purpose.  It 
must  cot  lose  its  proper  balance  in  length 
for  convenient  holding,  or  its  proper  depth 
of  bowl  for  carrying  liquids.  It  must  not 
be  so  ornamented  in  stem  as  to  inconven- 
ience the  hand  which  holds  it,  or  so  en- 
crusted with  relief  in  the  bowl  as  to  inter- 
fere with  its  proper  service  as  a  receptacle. 
A  pair  of  tongs  must  perform  its  function 
of  holding  and  lifting  burning  brands,  or  the 
ornament  which  makes  it  inefficacious  is 
wrongly  applied  and  inappropriate. 

In  the  broad  field  of  art  applied  to  textiles 
and  wall  coverings  there  is  room  for  pro- 
found study  of  the  rules  and  philosophy  of 
applied  art,  and  the  necessity  of  such  study 
is  apparent  in  the  interior  of  almost  every 
house,  and  in  the  materials  shown  in  every 
shop  window.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  in  small  things  the  rules  of  art,  the 
philosophy  of  art,  may  be  neglected.  Small 
things  cease  to  be  unimportant  if  largely 
treated.  The  same  kind  of  value  may  attach 
to  a  yard  of  muslin  covered  with  beautiful 
and  appropriate  design,  and  treated  with  ex- 
haustive knowledge  and  appreciation  of 
color,  as  would  belong  to  a  picture  by  the 
same  artist.  It  is  a  very  common  error  to 
suppose  that  incomplete  and  inferior  kuowl- 


203 


edge  will  suffice  for  the  designer.  Good  de- 
sign requires  not  only  perfect  observance  of ' 
the  fundamental  law  of  appropriateness,  but 
personal  gifts  of  grace  and  composition,  and 
au  education  which  is  not  only  technical,  but 
special  aud  literary.  The  designer  should 
know  the  art  of  all  nations  and  ages  in  de- 
sign, not  for*  imitation,  but  for  cultivation. 
His  compositions  may  aud  should  be  entirely 
uninfluenced  by  them  in  feeling,  but  he  will 
have  learned  from  them  what  is  true  or  false 
in  art,  and  to  judge  wisely  of  his  own  work. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  manufact- 
urer should  know  what  is  absolutely  best 
among  the  designs  which  he  reproduces.  He 
knows  clearly  the  qualities  which  will  ap- 
peal to  the  public,  aud  except  when  a  design 
is  backed  by  a  name  which  has  influence 
with  the  buying  public,  and  has  gained  its 
confidence,  ho  will  rarely  accept  a  design 
which  does  not  appeal  to  the  popular  taste 
by  its  color  and  sentiment.  The  enjoyment 
of  fresh  and  positive  coloring  seems  to  be 
universal.  There  is  also  a  universal  liking 
for  exact  reproductions  of  familiar  flowers, 
and  as  these  two  likings  are  inherent  aud 
spontaneous,  the  thoughtful  designer  will 
do  well  to  add  to  his  list  of  necessary  require- 
ments for  a  design,  fresh  and  good  color,  aud 


204 


absolute  truth  iu  following  natural  forms. 
This  is  where  Japanese  design  has  obtained, 
and  well  deserves  to  obtain,  world-wide  pop- 
ularity. Every  flower  or  leaf  or  plant  which 
appears  in.  Japanese  design  is  absolutely  an 
individual  specimen,  true  to  its  individual- 
ism as  well  as  its  species,  and  while  there  is 
little  composition  in  the  seuseaof  large  and 
regularly  recurring  groups  or  masses  in  Jap- 
anese design,  the  absolute  truth  and  grace 
of  drawing,  and  the  unerring  taste  in  plac- 
ing ornament,  has  given  Japanese  art  a  fore- 
most place  in  influence  and  favor  in  the 
world. 

This  truth  to  nature  in  representation 
does  not  by  any  means  detract  from  compo- 
sition iu  design,  for  there  is  abundant  subject 
for  composition  in  nature  as  well  as  for  in- 
dividual ornament.  The  important  thing  is 
to  gather  into  design  or  into  applied  art  all 
truth,  all  beauty,  and  all  that  will  influence 
or  elevate  humanity ;  to  be  forever  mind- 
ful of  the  dignity  and  value  of  art  as  a 
means  of  education  and  of  happiness ;  and 
to  be  content  with  nothing  less  than  the 
best,  either  as  artist  or  possessor. 


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